Medea
by Mml Moe
Summary: Trapped on the western desert continent of MX8-9671, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay and Jennifer Keller must find their way home with the help of an unlikely friend or two.
1. Chapter 1

With the outbreak of the civil war, Breeding facilities were required to relinquish their faction ties and become self sustaining. Ties would be reformed and broken, only to be reformed once more.

Queen's turned on one another often, seeking a Hive richer than their own, or simply to assert their authority. With the obliteration of entire Hives, the need for Queens quickly rose to a critical.

Nestled within the safety of a canyon, was one such facility. It had recently underwent a change in loyalty, and now rested solely in the control of the Alliance.

With only a small opening visible to a passerby, they were free from intrusions from the great reptiles and sand cats. Humans, if they were foolish enough to travel so deep into the crimson desert, were quickly taken by the scout darts: bleached white by the harsh sunlight.

"What story shall I tell you all tonight?"

"She who tamed the great sky beast!"

"No, I want to hear about the Queen who defeated an army of Atlanteans!"

"But she told that two nights ago. I want to hear about the sky beast."

The older female smiles and wraps her robe tighter about her slender frame. "Tonight I'll tell about the sky beast."

A dark haired child groans and her lower lip juts out.

"Tomorrow, I will retell the defeat of the Atlanteans. You must learn patience, youngling."

"Yes Matron."

"Good. Now go to your beds and I will begin the story."

She ends the story late in the night cycle and rises from her perch. Walking the two rows of beds, she checks each sleeping child before she returns to her own in the far corner closest to the door.

She removes her over robe and gown, leaving only a light black shift to cover her frame. Untying her hair, already beginning to show gray around her temple, she slides under the covers and curls up.

Matron, as the children called her, for there was no name for her yet but the title she earned from age and experience, was one of the few not yet chosen. She was born with a recessive gene that made her undesirable to the Commanders that had visited thus far. Light sensitive, with blue tinted sclera1, her appearance often unnerved those who met her gaze

The ever placid one, she was given the youngest groups, for they required the utmost patience.

Opening her bright gold eyes, she absorbs what little light there was. The faint blue glow of her night vision was fractured by her overly long lashes, a trait all of them after the second generation developed to ward off the sands of this planet.

The room was alive with the soft breaths of her charges as they slept. Slowly she sits up and slips out of her bed as carefully as she could. Tonight she could not sleep. Something in the back of her mind had her worried and left her with the sickening feeling of unease. Only since she went into her first heat cycle did she feel so restless.

That unplanned cycle had been triggered by a Commander who had come to view her and her clutch sisters of the same age. He had come close enough to her that his pheromones triggered her when he leaned forward to get a better look at her eyes. Because of that, she spent a week in isolation, to prevent her from potentially harming her charges.

Knowing nothing of mating, she let her imagination run rampant during that week. Using only the faintest of ideas of what a male looks like under their leather, she pretended his chest was against her back as she relieved herself of the stress and burning in the pit of her stomach.

With a sigh, she opens the door to the hallway and follows the corridor to the main entryway. Two Drones stood mute, their faceless heads following her as she passes them.

The cool, dry air was a blessing as it passed over her face, whipping her hair and filling her loreal pits with the scent of sand and dew. The red sand engulfed her long, narrow feet with each step as she walked around the small enclosed perimeter. The two moons were full tonight and provided her with enough light to see two figures on a distant dune.

She squints and turns towards them. One makes a gesture towards the facility and they drop to all fours. She frowns as they lope off in an awkward gait, vanishing behind the dune. "Disgusting beasts." She mutters to herself in reference to the humans who inhabited this region.

They very well could have traveled the small oceanic divide to a lush forested land, but stupidly remained here. She wrinkles her nose, remembering what her group's Overseer said: "They remain here because of the silt. They dig it up from dried watering holes and consume it as a delicacy. Its properties are highly addictive, greatly reduce their life spans, and leave them dependent on it until their death."

_Dirt eaters. _

She squats in the sand and scoops up a handful of the fine red soil. Rubbing it between her fingers, she sniffs it and dumps it back to the earth. How a race could even consider putting anything like that in their mouth was beyond her.

Leaning back, she falls onto her rump and tucks her legs under her. A Commander was scheduled to arrive mid day tomorrow. There would be three to choose from, including her. The other two were a generation younger than she and bore the strong features of the Queen who produced them: jet black hair and delicate heart shaped faces. They did not develop the traits her and her brood kin inherited due to being delivered as infants from a rival facility to build a tie. They lacked the yellowed coloring to protect them from the sun and the tall, spindly body shape to make desert living easier. They were curved and fattened with spoiling by their Overseer. She knew they would perish quickly if they had ever stepped outside the facility's protective walls.

She amuses herself with the idea of them being sucked under the sands by a trap snake. How joyous it would be to watch their fragile faces vanish beneath her feet.

The air shifted in scent and she looks to the horizon. The moons were being covered and the wind lashed her hair upwards. A sandstorm was building. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply, enjoying the spicy scent brought by the wind.

Standing, she stretches her arms outwards with an exaggerated groan and turns to head inside. Though she could survive the barrage of sand cutting her flesh like tiny shards of glass, she did not want to explain to her Overseer why her clothing had been ripped from her. Supplies were limited in these times as they were all so often reminded by their Overseers.

She returns to her room and just as quietly as she had left, she climbs back into her bed. Her covers dusted with the rust colored residue left by the sand, she covers her head and falls into a light sleep.

Her group was awoken by their Overseer; a male in his prime, cleanly dressed and groomed. As with the rest of his caste, he was castrated to reduce unwanted urges from arising.

This Overseer was the first in the facility to have overlapping groups. With her being the last of her age group left, both she and him were charged with the care of the younglings he was assigned. The added help from her lessened his burden a great deal.

"You went outside again." He says with a frown, pulling the covers from her.

"I couldn't sleep." She replies thickly, sitting up and yawning.

"I have told you time and time again, that it is dangerous to leave the facility alone."

"If anything attacked, they would have to get past the force field. I would have plenty of time to get back inside." She states simply, shaking the remnants of the dust from her hair.

"Get washed and put on your presenting gown. I want you with the others in the choosing room in three quarters of an hour."

She nods and wraps her black over robe around herself. "Do you know anything about this one?"

"Just speculation from what I gleaned during the transmission."

"What do you think?"

The Overseer shrugs with a tilt of his head. "You will see soon enough. Now go wash. You're looking like one of those dirt eating humans."

Dressed in the form fitting gown for her presentation, she stands alongside her younger half siblings. Their hair was elaborately drawn up, opposed to her simple style. She had pulled her hair away from her face in a small braid, letting the rest fall about her shoulders in lazy waves.

She did not indulge in the black kohl around her eyes. It was a personal preference, and she saw it as silly. Why should one try to give themselves something they do not have? Her Overseer had been relieved at her choice, for he did not want to explain to her why emphasizing her eyes would lessen her chances even further.

Glancing sidelong at them, their stomachs were exposed and the fabric covering their breasts was so sheer, it left nothing to the imagination. She frowns inwardly; their Overseer promoted them like a slaver selling newly converted Worshippers.

She knew how this would go. It would be the same as it has been since she started presenting in her twentieth year, two years after her feeding slit opened. Now approaching on her thirty second, it had yet to change.

The door opens after a moment, and they all lift their heads, straighten their posture and face forward as trained. She listens to the footsteps approach, pausing once, twice, and the third time settle in front of her.

He was close to his prime and not heavily marked like the previous Commander. His skin was pale with a pink hue over his brows and cheeks from his short exposure to the planet's sun. She stares right back at him, not once raising her eyes. His discomfort in her bright gaze was open enough for her to feel it. She knew he would not choose her. If it was not for her eye contact, it was possibly the fact that she was a head taller than he.

"You never look them in the eye, I've told you that countless times." Her Overseer sighs as he undresses her. "Always look over them as a Queen should."

"I see no reason to pretend they are invisible or inferior."

"It is how it is done, child. You will be destined to become a Keeper if you continue this."

She lifts her arms as he pulls her gown over her head. "Is there any other options for me, other than a Queen or Keeper?"

"You could be sterilized and maintain a facility like myself." He says with a bitter chuckle.

"Oh come now, its not that horrible."

"Being stripped of my potency is not something I chose, but it was for the good of our race that I do my duty." He says as he begins to pick out her clothing.

"Well I keep you company, isn't that worth it."

He smiles and holds up the light black shift. Once she lifts her arms, he slides it over her head. "Your company is far better than your adoptive cutch mates'."

"At least one of them is gone. We just have to put up with the other until the next Commander comes along."

With a laugh, he wraps her white over robe around her shoulders. "True. Now go tend to your charges before they tear that room apart."

Another restless night saw her standing outside the facility, watching the rolling dunes. The figures had not made their appearance since the night she first saw them.

She had almost wished to see them again. Their strange humanoid build and funny four legged gait fascinated her.

"If you cannot sleep, why don't you go to the kitchens and help them prepare the younglings' morning meals?" Her Overseer says as he approaches.

She looks over her shoulder at him and tilts her head. "I do not think they would enjoy seeing me anywhere near."

He laughs lightly, remembering the fire she had accidentally caused. "What do you find so fascinating about the desert?"

"It's calming and blessedly quiet."

He responds with a rumbling in his throat, and rests his chin on the crown of her head. He feels her lean back against him, her body relaxing under the layers of fabric that divided them. Every fiber of him wanted desperately to respond to her closeness. He could still become aroused and orgasm, but was denied the ability to ejaculate. Controlling his baser instincts, he closes his pale eyes and satisfies himself with the comfort of her earthy scent.

"Have there been reports of humans venturing far into the desert?" She asks.

"The scouts say they go no further than a few kilometers from their settlements and stick to developed trade routes that follow the river. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." She murmurs, watching the dune where the two figures had stood.

She enjoyed the moonlight as it reflected off the red sands, highlighting the desert in a glorious spectrum of color. She closes her eyes and feels his hands lightly grip her upper arms. They smooth over the thick fabric of her outer robe, the tips of his claws just grazing the sides of her breasts.

Though the gesture was platonic in nature, she responded by pressing the back of her hips against his. His hands drop away from her and she felt his chest leave her back. Turning to face him, she looks at him directly, her pupils engulfing all but the dark orange ring of her irises.

"It is against the policy, child." He says tightly, his partially dilated pupils giving way to his urge to accept her response.

"How many more rejections will I be forced to endure before I am considered past the age?" She asks, drawing closer to him, overwhelming his senses with her attractant pheromones, which to a human nose would smell similar to warm cinnamon.

His restraint waivers as he leans closer to scent her neck; it stirs in him something that had been forced to remain dormant for two thirds of his long life. She tilts her head, her hair falling behind her shoulders, offering him the right to mark her if he so chose.

Gripping her chin, he forces her head back upright. "Do not lessen your chance of being chosen even more so. Only a Commander has the right to claim your neck."

He pushes his left hand through the folds of her robes and cups his palm over her genitals. Though her sex gave no indication, the hiss she gave, the way her back arced to grind her clitoris against his hand gave him all he needed to make his decision. She would hate him for this.

With her so befuddled by her desire to mate she took no noticed of his other hand as it moved to his side. It took three shots from his stunner to knock her unconscious, and due to her metabolism so suited for the unforgiving environment, the effect would not last very long.

Lifting her over his shoulder, he carries her back inside. Passing her assigned room, he carries her deeper into the facility to the isolation room. He lowers her to the bed and locks the door behind himself. Releasing a deep breath, he leaves her to finish out her heat cycle safely.

She awoke to the sounds of the alarm. Confused, she gets out of the bed and looks around, gaining her bearings.

Going to the door, she tries to open it and finds it locked. She sends out a mental wave, calling for help. The web of consciousness was in a state of panic. She felt each life pulsing in confusion and fear. It caused her own panic to rise and she beats her left hand against the door in an attempt to get the attention of anyone near.

"Get them in the hatchery now!" She hears the eldest group's Overseer shout, muffled by the door.

A massive wet thump against the door causes her to yelp and leap away from it. She presses herself into a corner as another most solid thump sounds. Slipping between two thick veins to hide herself, she watches the door in horror.

1 .com/issues/articles/2005-07_


	2. Chapter 2

"What happened to that kinder, gentler Rodney McKay?" Sheppard asks with a grin.

"He died of heat exhaustion about an hour ago," Rodney mutters, wiping his brow and taking a seat in the shade cast off one of the rusty colored rock formations jutting from the sand like a spike.

"The Wraith facility is underground and probably much cooler. I think you can manage a little longer," Jennifer says with a sympathetic smile, squeezing Rodney's shoulder lightly.

"I think I'll die of heat stroke before we get there if I don't take a break."

"It's just over that dune, Rodney." John says as he points at the peak of the indicated dune.

"Fine," he groans and stands. "Why didn't you tell me the facility was on the horrible side of the planet?"

"To save Jennifer from listening to you complain before our departure," John quips.

"Don't you think Ronon would have been a better choice?" Rodney grumbles, lagging behind Jennifer and John as he trudged up the slope.

"It's his day off."

"When did he start taking days off from potentially being able to kill a Wraith?"

"Since he started having dinner dates."

"Oh. Right. Forgot about that."

The facility soon came into view as they crested the dune, a small black stain in the canyon wall.

"Its weird seeing them actually try to conceal their presence. They usually have the whole alien overlord thing going, must be something pretty damn important in there," John says, squinting past the sun to check for any movement.

As they closed in, it was Jennifer to take notice of the frantic array of foot prints near the entrance. "It looks like something bad happened."

"We aren't going in now, are we?"

"Yes Rodney, we are. We have guns and plenty bullets to take down enough Wraith to get us out of there if things go sideways."

"Things usually go sideways for us."

"Todd isn't here, we should be fine."

"You know…" Rodney says as they reach the entrance of the facility, "I wouldn't be surprised if Todd had something to do with this."

"I wouldn't either. He's the damned Kevin Bacon of Wraith."

The door slid open and the dark hallway greeted them with a rush of air that smelled heavily of decay and something akin to wet dog. Jennifer covers her nose with her hand as she followed Rodney and John into the inky black.

"Jesus," John whispers, shining his flashlight over the blood smeared floor.

"What could have done this?" Jennifer murmurs through her hand, trying her best not to step in the streaks of blood.

"Maybe the people were tired of being culled." John replies and stops in front of an open door. Shining his light inside, his dry retch drew Rodney and Jennifer's attention.

"Oh my god," Jennifer gasps as she looks for herself.

The beam of light showed a floor scattered with the partially eaten remains of children. Jennifer takes her own light when John turns away to get a better look. "They're all female," she says, stepping inside and squatting down next to the most intact of the corpses.

The little body had been stripped of clothing and gutted. Many of her organs were missing along with the meat of her right thigh. Reaching down, Jennifer turns her head so she could see her face. "Who could do this to a child?"

"It was a Wraith, Jennifer," Rodney says from the hall, refusing to look inside the room.

"And what does her being a Wraith have to do with it?" she snaps back.

Gingerly she places her fingers on the corners of the distinct bite mark on the child's upper arm. She estimated the width to be roughly five and a half inches. The size of the child's arm made it impossible to guess the length of the mouth, but the width was enough for her to assume that whatever it was had been of formidable size.

"Do you have the life sign detector with you?" she asks, turning to look at John.

"What? Oh, yeah," he says and reaches into his vest. Pulling out the device, he activates the screen and frowns. "There's seven life signs down the hall. One is off by itself and the rest are clustered a few rooms away."

"Let's take the one first. I like the odds better," he says when Jennifer joins them in the hall, the knees of her trousers wet and black with blood.

It was difficult to not notice the thick bloodied drag marks leading down the hall. The size of them meant adult Wraith had been around. At least two of them, since the trail split into twin tracks, each going into a different room.

Each open door was the same. One or two dead children were strewn across the floor and the abdomen cleaned of meat and organs, in particular the liver Jennifer noted. The stench grew stronger as they ventured deeper into the facility.

"This is it," John says at the locked door which was decorated in a fine fan of blood spatter.

"See if you can get it open," he says to Rodney and holds his weapon at the ready. Jennifer stood behind him, just to his right; her own hand gun was un-holstered. She flipped the safety off as Rodney began working with the panel hidden in the outer vein.

The unlocking was a simple task. Rodney soon uttered "got it," and the door slid open.

The air within was thick and humid. "It smells like cinnamon toast," Rodney says as they step inside.

"Yeah, it kinda does," John replies, sweeping the room with his light.

The room appeared empty. Unlike the others within the facility, it was free of blood. The bed's covers were rumpled as if someone had been sleeping recently.

"It could have been a glitch. I don't see anyone," Jennifer whispers, staying close to Rodney as he walked around the perimeter of the room.

"Over here," John whispers loudly, waving them to the far corner.

Squeezed into the wall was a Wraith, an adult or nearly so. Her body was compressed awkwardly against two of the veins, preventing her from getting free. Her eyes were heavily lidded and unfocused.

Jennifer reaches past Rodney to gently grasp the Wraith's wrist. Once she found a pulse, and when she knew the Wraith wouldn't move, she began trying to free her.

"A little help," she says to John and Rodney over her shoulder as she tugs at the slender arm.

"Why do we have to help them?" Rodney groans as he grabs a handful of the robe covering her shoulders and helps peeling her from her hiding place.

"She may know what happened," Jennifer finally replies once the Wraith is lowered to the floor.

Her skin was stained with what looked very similar to tar and just as sticky. Her lids fluttered.

Reaching into her pack, Jennifer retrieves a small flashlight. Squatting next to the Wraith she holds open one of her lids and shines the light close to her eye. The pupil constricts to a near invisible sliver. "Her sclera are blue," Jennifer says, leaning down to get a better look. "I've only heard of that in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta and Marfan's."

"Osteo what?" John asks, keeping his gun trained on the heavily robed Wraith.

"Osteogenesis imperfecta," Jennifer corrects him, "Its brittle bone disorder."

"You could have just said that and what about the other one?"

"Marfan's is…"

Jennifer is nearly thrown back as the Wraith sits up with a startled screech.

"Whoa, whoa!" John shouts, aiming at the Wraith as she rises to a defensive crouch. "You can settle the fuck down."

Her eyes were wide to the point of nearly bulging from their sockets. She backs up until her rump touches the wall. "Have any of you been bitten?" She asks.

"By what?" Rodney asks with a snarking undertone.

"Those things."

"Great description there," John mutters and lowers his gun. "We haven't seen anything living since we left the stargate, so no, we haven't been bitten by anything."

The Wraith visibly relaxes and sits up on her haunches. "You have found nothing living in the facility?"

"Not yet," John replies.

Jennifer frowns as the Wraith's face becomes a mask of utter despair. "I told them I'd always keep them safe," she whispers and rocks back onto her heels.

"We picked up some more life signs," Jennifer says hopefully, "Maybe some of them found a safe place."

The Wraith glances up and frowns. Her consciousness searched the facility, but all she was met with was a confusion of white noise and her own panic pulsing wildly. Unsteadily she stands and looks at the three humans. "I will not feed on you."

"What's the catch?" John asks, wearily watching her as she steps closer.

"I would like to be escorted off this planet. I have never been outside the perimeter fence."

"Fair enough. Lets check the rest of the place then we'll head out and find you a greener planet for you to wait to be picked up."

"This is it." John whispers, nodding to the door.

The Wraith looks at it and frowns.

"Can you tell if anyone is in there?" Rodney asks.

"No," she replies, her brows knitting together, "Our web is in such disarray."

"Web?"

"You can ask her all the questions you want after we get out of here, Rodney," John looks at the Wraith and indicates to the door. "Can you get it open?"

She hesitates and takes a shuddering inhale. "I hope your weapons will be sufficient if they are behind this door," she murmurs to the door as she opens it with a simple thought command.

John turns on the small light atop his gun and sweeps it across the room. The blackness consumed the beam, only allowing them to see a few paces inside. He pauses in mid sweep and his brows rise in surprise.

"Wraith eye shine is blue, right?" he asks, taking a step back.

"Yeah," Jennifer says. "Why?"

"Close the door, please."

The Wraith looks at him and tilts her head.

"Fucking close it now!" he shouts.

She lifts her brows in surprise and faces the door just as six yellow pin points of light bob in the darkness. With a gasp, she closes the door quickly. Steeling herself, she remains put, despite the strong urge to flee, as a bodily thump hits the closed door; once, twice, and at last silence.

"Its time to go," John says, backing even further from the door.

"I think that's a good idea," Jennifer says with a quivering voice.


	3. Chapter 3

The halls seemed longer and narrower as they backtracked quickly. Fright can do terrible and wondrous things to the mind. Shadows became monsters and the creaking so familiar to the Wraith following John turned into claw tipped foot falls. The home she had known all of her life took on a new appearance and became so alien to her that it set in her a fear so appalling it caused her mind to feel chilled.

John looks over his shoulder to see the Wraith walking with her hands on each side of her head like a horse's blinders. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to see what was inside those rooms they passed. He didn't know much about Wraith and their family system, but assumed she saw them as sisters or at least liked some of them.

Her eyes met his briefly, pale blue shot with a pool of gold, before he turned to look where he was going. He had seen fear like that before. The look of all hope fading when he was taking shelter with two soldiers in the desert as bullets pelted the Hummer they had taken cover behind.

"Sheppard," Rodney hisses from behind the Wraith, "are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes I'm sure, Rodney," he replies, keeping his voice low despite the life signs still locked in the room. There was no reason for it other than habit and the feeling of doom hiding in the inky blackness.

"It just seems like its taking longer to get out of here than it did getting in."

John shrugs, feigning absolute calm. In truth, he wasn't so sure that he was leading them out. All the halls looked the same to him in the dark and the Wraith, who refused to look in any direction but at his back, was not helping.

"Hey," he says, stopping and nearly colliding with the Wraith, "do you know a short way out of here?"

"Yes."

"What the hell? Why didn't you say anything?" Rodney asks shrilly.

Without looking at him, she lifts both brows in a manner that reminded John of Todd, "I did not think of it. I assumed your leader knew where he was going."

"You could have spoken up," John says in a more friendly manner, noticing how her shoulders rolled forward defensively at Rodney's voice. He didn't want to risk her growing angry, as placid as she may have been so far, everyone has their breaking point.

"My charges are dead along with my Overseer. Directions were the last thing my mind would conjure up."

"I'm sorry that happened, but you need to suck it up and cry about them later. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here."

Her expression was unreadable as she looks at him and for a moment, John thinks he sees some flicker of that unstable anger he'd come to know Queen's to posses. However, she simply lowers her hands and says: "Very well."

Jennifer sees the flinch, the small quivering of her lips and flare of her nostrils as she looks around the hall. The air was thick with the smell of death and animal waste. It was overwhelming to her, and knowing a Wraith's olfactory was several times superior, she could only imagine how terrible it was to her.

The Wraith's eyes pass over her head, "We need to go back down this hall and take the second left."

As they turn to follow the Wraith, John speeds up to join her at the lead. "Nice navigating," Jennifer hears Rodney quip as the Colonel passes.

She frowns and watches the Wraith's back to avoid catching any unwanted views out of her peripheral vision. She had seen enough carnage in her career to dull the shock of it all, but these were children.

As she scrutinized the Wraith's movements to keep her mind off of the situation, her assumption that she had something like Marfan's was shot down the drain. The movement of the robes began to reveal a body that was built slender and long limbed like a gazelle.

So absorbed in her thoughts she wasn't aware of the Wraith stopping abruptly as she rounds the corner and walks into her. The fabric cushioned the blow, but it was still like hitting a wall.

"Sorry," she apologizes quickly, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here?" John asks.

Jennifer steps to the side to see past the Wraith's back. Not an arm's length from John and the Wraith was a very familiar face in a not so familiar outfit. Todd inclines his head, "While you may not be surprised, I was not expecting you John Sheppard."

"So, you don't happen to have any idea about what went on here? Our lovely companion here was locked in a room when the shit hit the fan."

Todd glances at the female, who stood at eye level with him. "I know no more than you do, Sheppard. My Hive received this facility's distress signal two days ago."

"The exit is there," the female says, stepping past Todd.

"I'm going with her," Rodney says as he raises his hand slightly to point towards the doorway.

"You can stay here if you want Todd, but we're not going to stick around."

"There are no survivors?"

"Just Olive Oyl over there," John replies as Todd turns to follow him no further than a hand's breadth between their shoulders.

As the door opened for the female the air seemed to become vacuumed out rather than whooshing in. The heat sucked all the moisture from John's lips and eyes as he stepped outside.

"You don't happen to have a dart nearby, do you?"

"I do not," Todd says, squinting in the harsh light, "The erratic weather conditions are too much of a risk."

"Awesome, well then, guys, it looks like we'll be walking to the gate."

"Spectacular," Rodney mutters sarcastically.

As they walked, John suspected Todd wanted something from them. The Wraith was oddly compliant and hadn't said a word as he followed them over the steep dunes. He watched him from the corner of his eye: "Nice suit, Todd. Never seen a Wraith outside of those trench coats except on the autopsy table."

"That manner of attire is ill suited for this planet."

"A sandstorm would rip the clothing from you in a second," the female says from his left.

"You aren't wearing one."

"I am," she replies curtly, lifting the heavy pale outer robe to reveal a sleek black suit similar to Todd's. "All the rooms are supplied with them in case of emergency."

"Why did you mention this? We could have used them too," Jennifer panted from behind them, having a difficult time pushing through the sand.

The female looks over her shoulder and extends her left hand to pull Jennifer over the dune's crest. "Little good it will do when the sand rips the skin from your face and hands," she says when Jennifer takes that offered hand.

"Wouldn't it do the same to you?"

It was Todd that spoke up before the female could, though her mouth had opened to reply. "No," he says.

Jennifer saw the narrowing of the female's eyes and the slight clench of the jaw when Todd spoke over her, but it quickly washed away as the Wraith fell in next to her to support her over the next dune.

"It would be pertinent to walk along the crests. It will take longer but will require far less energy," the female says and Rodney voiced his agreement behind them.

John pauses at the top of the dune and looks back at the female, who had one arm under Jennifer's to help her keep pace. "You said earlier, you don't know the way, Olive Oyl."

"I don't, but you do. Can you not figure out how to navigate the dunes to return to the gate?"

"Well yeah…" he lied. In truth, he doubted he could. Todd might though. He looks at the Wraith, who stood an arm's length from him watching the rest catch up to them. "Did you use an easier route?"

"You wish me to lead then, Colonel?" he croons in a manner that sent a shudder up John's spine.

"Yeah, I do. I'd like to get somewhere a little cooler sometime today."

Todd inclines his head and begins to walk along the lip of the dune. They all filed in behind him, John, Jennifer and the female, then Rodney who was checking the life signs detector every few seconds.

"Why does he call me that?" the female asks Jennifer in a low voice.

"Olive Oyl? Probably because you're tall and thin. I don't really like that name to be honest."

"Nor do I. He calls that Commander 'Todd'. Is it custom for your people to label us in such a manner?"

"Well it is nicer that just saying 'Hey you,' or just calling you 'Wraith,'" Jennifer smiles up at the female. "You don't look like an Olive Oyl though."

She tilts her head and frowns at Jennifer, "What do you mean?"

"The name doesn't fit you."

"How about Helena?" Rodney wheezes behind them after jogging to catch up.

"Why Helena?" Jennifer asks, looking between her and the Wraith's shoulders.

"After the actress, Helena Bonham Carter."

The Wraith looks at Jennifer and tilts her head. "Who is that?"

"She's an eccentric British actress. I did like The Theory of Flight," Jennifer says absently, noticing the look of confusion that crossed the alien's strong features. "Um, she's an entertainer."

With a nod of partial understanding, the Wraith returns her attention to their winding path. She didn't appear to be bothered very much by the heat or the blistering sunlight. Her yellow green cheeks had paled to a gold hue as well as the bridge of her nose.

Jennifer wrinkles her nose and winces. Her nose was beginning to burn and she was pretty sure her forehead and chin were going to soon follow. While the female next to her, with her arm locked in her's, smelled similar to cloves, Jennifer was sure she must smell awful to her.

Rodney reaches up and tenderly pats the top of his head. "Isn't the military supposed to issue hats?" he mutters, squinting past the glare on the life signs detector.

No matter how many times he checked, their little dots were the only points on the screen. Part of him was glad, but then again, it meant nothing was alive out here besides them. He could see why, with how terrible it was. No vegetation, just big pointy rocks.

He looked up to see the Wraith watching Jennifer. He didn't particularly care for all the attention the life sucking alien woman was giving her and picks up the pace to close the gap between them.

The Wraith glances back at him, "You are ill suited for laborious work. Why did your leader bring you?"

"Because Sheppard couldn't figure his way out of a paper bag without me," Rodney retorts hotly. He felt mildly insulted by the observation.

"Why is he your leader then, if he is incompetent?"

Before he could reply, Jennifer speaks up: "We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Where the Colonel lacks, Rodney and me make up for and vise versa."

"Exactly," he says and finally gets close enough to the two that he could smell the strong scent both Jennifer and the Wraith were giving off. "Aren't you hot under that thing?" he asks the Wraith.

She looks over her shoulder and down at him, "No. If I were not wearing it, I would suffer from the heat a great deal."

He peeks past the two women's shoulder to Todd. "He doesn't seem too bothered."

"He's quite adept at not showing discomfort," she says, and he thinks he hears just a little hint of something catty in that comment.

"He's good at not showing a lot of things," he mutters in agreement. Better to be on the woman's side of something than be miserable. It was the least he gleaned from his relationships.

"You know him well?"

"Yeah…well not really; not in the buddy buddy sense that he and Sheppard seem to have, but I've worked with him," Rodney shrugs and glances at the detector off handedly. "He's good at what he does."

The Wraith lifts a hairless brow and then both lift in that alien shrug. "I find it odd a Commander would come alone to the facility."

He did too, and he was sure Sheppard felt the same. Rodney nods and comes to realize his earlier dislike of the female was just jealousy. She wasn't that bad. Creepy, yeah, with that long face and strange eyes, but she wasn't as intimidating as the rest despite her stature.

"You aren't the only one," Jennifer whispers. "I mean, he has what?" She pauses, "Usually two Hives with him, he could have sent a team."

"The Commanders who visited to choose a Queen typically had a subordinate and at least one Drone with them," she watches Todd's back as he walked in front of them all, "There must be something he's after that he doesn't want his crew to know about."


	4. Chapter 4

John felt sticky, hot and filthy as he trudged along a step behind Todd. His pants clung to the front of his thighs and his under shirt was plastered to his torso so well that he was sure that it would have to be surgically removed when he go back to Atlantis. That was if he got back, and it was starting to look like a big if. He was beginning to get that funny little inkling that Todd was going to screw them over at any second.

In front of him, the Wraith walked along at a casual but brisk pace. He didn't seem bothered by the heat, other than the slightly damp look his hair had started to take on and the sweat beading around his hairline. It was moments like these that he sorely wished Teyla was with him. She had gotten pretty good at seeing past Todd's bullshit.

What was he thinking? He had a Wraith right behind him. With a little sweet talk, he might just get her to pull some alien mind tricks and find out what his brother is really up to. He just needed a break to get her away from Jennifer for a bit, and out of ear shot of Todd.

He looks over his shoulder to see her still arm locked with Jennifer. Rodney had caught up to them and the three were talking, though far too softly for him to catch anything but half words. Not enough for him to know what they were talking about.

"Do you think he had anything to do with those monsters?" Jennifer asks.

"I doubt it. The facility is controlled by the Alliance. It would be idiotic to destroy one of their facilities," the Wraith murmurs in reply.

She reaches down and tears the hem of her robe, pulling away a thick strip of the off-white cloth. Briefly releasing Jennifer's arm, she ties it over the woman's head to keep her scalp from burning. "Do you know which Queen he follows?"

"He's pretty much the head of the Alliance, unless he found a Queen since we last met up," Rodney replies, taking note from the Wraith and pulling off his jacket to cover the top of his already red scalp.

"Really?" she asks, surprised and fighting the urge to snicker at the man who had tied his jacket by the sleeves under his chin.

"Yeah, he used one of our people to take over."

The Wraith frowns and looks at Todd, who paused in mid stride to shake something with eight legs from his foot before continuing. "He is a strange breed. How does his crew function without the Queen to control the cycles and web flow?"

Jennifer wasn't sure what cycles she was talking about, but assumed she had meant the mating cycles. "They seem to be fine, from what we've seen."

"Hey," John says, slowing his pace so he came within earshot of the three. "What are you all plotting back here?"

"We're just trying to figure out what Todd is up to," Jennifer says quietly, glancing past John at Todd's broad shouldered back. He had not seemed to noticed Sheppard's absence, or did not care.

"Good luck with that," he mutters and falls in closer to them. He felt a sense of safeness in a group. The Wraith behind him added to that security, and he found it odd that he thought of her in that manner. She could just as easily knock the shit out of him and turn him into a happy meal in a second.

"Hey Oli…"

"Helena," the Wraith interrupts, before he can get the whole name out.

"Helena?" he asks, looking pointedly at Rodney.

She nods and offers him a tight lipped smile. "If you insist on giving me a name, then I would like to be called something of my liking. Your Doctor McKay substituted a pleasant sounding label."

"Okie dokie then, Helena, can I talk to you in private for a second?" he asks, then looks at Rodney, "Could you distract Todd for a few?"

The Wraith narrows her eyes in thought as she looks down at the scruffy haired human. Eventually, she inclines her head and falls back, letting Rodney and Jennifer ahead of her to catch up to Todd.

"What is it?" she asks as Sheppard walks beside her, smelling very heavily of sweat and some chemical odor coming from his hair. To be honest, she found it extremely offensive, but gave no indication of her discomfort with his proximity.

"Both you and I know Todd is bound to be up to something, and it's rubbing me the wrong way. With all those kids dead and those monsters, what would he want huh?"

She furrows her brows and looks past the two humans ahead of her at Todd, who was speaking to Rodney. "I would not have been so inclined to think ill of him if he had not come alone."

"Exactly. I know the old bastard can take care of himself, but going into something like that is iffy."

"Is this all you wanted to discuss with me, your distrust in him?"

"No. I wanted to ask you a favor," John says, giving her a side long glance.

"And what will I get in return for this favor?"

"Isn't a way off this planet good enough?"

"I would have eventually found my way to a more hospitable location whether you showed up or not."

John sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "What do you want?"

"In addition to safe passage, I would like to be escorted to a breeding facility."

"You really like taking care of kids, huh?"

The Wraith tilts her head in a half nod, "I have no desire to become a Queen. Now, what is this favor you want?"

"I want you to find out what he's up to."

"How?"

John looks at her, perplexed. "Aren't you Wraith telepathic?"

"Yes."

"Well, do your mind search thing and fish out the motive."

The Wraith frowns at him and sighs, "I cannot just delve into another Wraith's mind without him opening it to me willingly. A human is easy to read because they lack the mental capabilities to block out an intrusion."

Jennifer stifles a yawn as she listens to Rodney and Todd discuss the accelerated growth chambers of the cloning facility they had destroyed a six months ago. She looks over her shoulder at Helena. Mama Helena, she giggles inwardly at the name, finding it fitting. The Wraith looked exasperated while she spoke, like a preschool teacher who was a month away from retiring.

"How do you know if a Queen will give birth to a female?" she asks, cutting Rodney off. Todd's responses were starting to become snappy. She blamed the heat, since he seemed to be able to put up with Rodney for hours back on air conditioned Atlantis.

"The process it takes to create a female is different;" Todd says flatly then growls in warning as Rodney mutters "obviously," "A Drone requires no fertilization to create, while a viable male and female do. Males only require a week cycle's worth of nutrients to develop, and the females have need of it for their entire development."

"So it's costly to make one in a Hive?"

He nods curtly before shaking his head to clear his neck of the hair that began to cling to it. "You brought enough rations to sustain yourselves for more than a day, yes?"

"We have some power bars and water," Rodney mutters, still upset over the ban of bringing chocolate bars off world.

Todd sighs, just a slight exhale of air from his wide nostrils, and looks at Sheppard and the female. "Inform your Colonel Sheppard that we will need to take shelter until nightfall."

The sun was directly overhead when they found a suitable location. It was Rodney, to everyone's surprise, who found it. With a rather shrill yelp, he had dropped waist deep into a well hidden cave tucked between two of the red conical rocks.

It was cramped, with a ceiling only five feet high, but it provided protection from the blistering heat.

While Rodney sat off to one corner with Jennifer, red faced and complaining; John had sidled up by Todd and Helena. The female had pulled off her white over robe and shook it out before placing it behind her as a cushion. John couldn't help but admire her slender form squeezed into that tight black suit.

He thought himself sly, absorbing her from the corner of his eye as he pretended to watch the cave entrance. Her breasts were beautifully curved, but small. He preferred them to be bigger, a nice bouncy D cup, but she was thin; so much so that he could see the smooth bumps of her hip bones through the mystery fabric. What was that anyway? It couldn't be leather.

Her face wasn't as nice. Her features were strong, though they suited her personality, but he just couldn't think of her face as lovely. The Queens he had seen before were slight, with delicate features and plump lips. Helena had a long nose, with narrow nostrils framed by large sensory pits. Her lips were thin and dry and not at all kissable. Those creepy eyes turned and looked directly at him, narrowing. She lifts her hairless brows as if to ask 'what?'

Shit.

"What are those suits made out of?" he asks quickly.

Helena frowns, "It is a synthetic fabric made in the supply factories, it is heat resistant and durable enough to withstand the sandstorms here, among many things."

She leans forward, close to his face. "Go sit with your friends Colonel," she hisses softly. Her breath was foul, like sour milk and rancid meat. "If you want me to glean anything from him, I'd prefer you not within proximity."

John got it and fought back the strong urge to gag. Didn't Wraith brush their teeth? No. No, he didn't think so, not with the way those nasty fangs looked. Like a fucking shark from hell.

He obligingly shuffles over to the other side of the small cave. He could hear Helena's voice behind him, the soft wavering murmur between her and Todd. She had gotten to work fast. That was good.

"What'd she get on you about?" Jennifer asks.

"Looking at her tits."

"She's a Wraith," Rodney states, as if disgusted.

"So? They have all the same parts. Don't they?"

"Actually…" Jennifer starts to say before John cuts her off with a "You know, never mind, I really don't want to know."

"They just have a vestigial ovipositor where the clitoral hood should but, but it's the males who are more different," she finishes with a hidden grin. "Well, Todd is at least."

"What?" Rodney gasps, "How do you know?"

"I've had to examine him, Rodney. Woolsey's orders."

"Did you really have to look…down there?"

John bit back a snort of laughter.

"With his past history of hiding weapons, yeah, I did Rodney."

"Trust me, Rodney; I wouldn't want that anywhere near me," she assures him.

"You've know these humans long?" Helena asks, glancing over to the group across from them.

Todd's answer was a low, thrumming, "Mmhm."

She sighs inwardly. She had only managed to get one or two word answers from him so far. Her Overseer had been talkative and very open. The memory triggered a knot in her stomach to rise to her throat, almost choking her. Helena, not in her years would she have considered that her day would be spent sharing a cave with a Commander and a trio of humans.

The change in emotion seemed to have drawn his attention. "You feel loss over possible rivals?" he asks her, his head tilted every so slightly in her direction.

"I have not been chosen in over a decade, I doubt I'd ever see…have seen them as rivals," she says sharply.

"So you would waste the resource you could bring to our race to become a Keeper?"

She narrows her eyes. "I'd rather live my life with purpose and not be some ignorant, pampered, brood Queen."

Todd gave the Wraith equivalent of an eye roll, "Is that what your Overseer has been feeding you?" he chuckles hoarsely. "He must have wanted you to himself."

"He would never," she hisses, leaning towards him with her teeth bared.

"A proper Overseer can negotiate for the worst of females," he says flatly, not flinching under her aggressive display. It was all a load of hot air, and he had seen it far more times than he cared to count. Only the old Queens posed a threat, for they were taught in the proper manner. These young females were far too soft, too domesticated.

Helena wrinkles her nose and slumps back in her spot. She could not think of a biting comeback and she did not know him well enough to find what would hurt him most. "How far is it to the gate?" she asks finally.

"At a human's pace, a four hour walk."


	5. Chapter 5

Night travel was much easier on the humans as was the few hours rest. Their pace had noticeably quickened and Rodney's complaining had only to do with getting sand in his shoes. Todd led them, a few paces ahead of the group and Helena had taken up the rear. The latter, Jennifer was grateful for when she tripped over a half buried lizard like creature. It met a quick end when Helena stomped on its spade shaped head before it could snap at her. She had smiled, surprising the Wraith with a hug and a "thank you."

"That has to be a galactic first," Rodney says when Jennifer caught back up to him and John.

"What?" she asks breathlessly, slowing to a more comfortable pace.

"A human hugging a Wraith; I think you're the first one to have done it."

"Probably," John agrees, stealing a glance back at Helena. The Wraith appeared slightly dumbfounded, but quickly masked it when she noticed him looking at her. Her wide set eyes narrowed in the slightest, the gesture enhanced by her thick lashes.

Jennifer rolls her eyes. "They've been around since the Ancients; I doubt I'm the first person to hug one, Rodney."

They continued in relative silence. Jennifer hummed for a short time before Rodney grumbled: "Do you have to do that?" Flustered, Jennifer blamed the environment on his snappish behavior.

John checked his watched every few second, clicking the back light on and off. It kept his mind from wandering back to those corpse littered rooms and Helena's frightened face in the dark. Something that terrifies a Wraith is not good at all, he thought as he clicked the button on the side of his watch again.

Twelve minutes. That's how long they had been walking since leaving the little cave. It felt like hours to him, and his team probably felt the same. For all he knew, this planet could be like the one he had spent over a year on in a couple of hours. Todd or Helena would have mentioned that, wouldn't they? He doubted Helena after considering her; she didn't seem to know too terribly much about anything outside her facility. Former facility, he reminded himself. She had that strange Wraith wisdom, but she had never set foot further than that fence. And what were a few years to a Wraith?

Behind him Rodney gingerly touches his head. His scalp had not been completely saved by his makeshift hat, although it wasn't nearly as painful as his forehead and nose. I'll be peeling for a week. He thinks bitterly.

Jennifer was trying her hardest not to scratch at her nose, knowing the stinging would not be worth relieving the itch. She didn't like the prospect of the peeling and itching that would follow.

"Hey Helena, do you…people…Wraith, ever sun burn?" Rodney asks, fumbling over how he saw her.

"It depends on how recently we have fed. Typically it just causes our skin to darken, but if I have not fed in, oh, a week, then I will be in just as much misery as you." she replies with a casual flick of her wrist then looks over the two reddened humans in front of her. "You do have salve to put on your burns?"

"I think so," Jennifer says, slinging her pack off one shoulder and around to her side.

Rummaging through the contents, she fishes out the first aid kit and flips it open. The welcoming smell of antiseptic hit her nose and she inhales deeply. Something about that felt like home and reminded her she will be back eventually. Helena and Rodney would keep her safe until then.

Picking out the tube of burn cream before shutting the box and popping the top, she squeezes out a small amount, "Lean over here, Rodney," she says and spreads it over his nose. Jennifer winces in sympathy when he complains about her being too rough. "Sorry."

"Be grateful she does not have claws," Helena says, growing tired of listening to the man complain over such trivial things.

The Wraith had to listen to his drivel since leaving the facility. Her patience with him was starting to fray, but she held her tongue as best as she could. A Male shouldn't whine of discomfort, or become short with a female unless there was sound reason to do so. He should be supportive and insure her safety over his own. That was how it should be.

Todd stops before the dune they had been traveling along dipped into a hollow bowl of a valley. His mouth draws into a tight line as he looks into the valley below.

"What's wrong?" John asks, coming up alongside the Wraith, who was staring down into the valley with an expression John hadn't seen since he last met with him.

When he followed Todd's stare, he knew. The gate was buried. Only the top of it crested over the red sand; peeking at them, taunting them. The DHD would be impossible to reach by hand.

"Well that's just fucking great," he mutters.

"Indeed." Todd concurs and snorts out the dust that coated the inside of his nostrils.

"So, what now?"

"How long will it take your people to come in search of you?" Todd asks, his tone sounding completely incensed.

"We haven't…"

"What the hell?" Rodney groans when he finally saw why they had stopped. "We're stuck in this awful place now?"

"Yeah we are Rodney, so we're going to have to find a place to hole up for a little while, until we can hitch a ride back to Atlantis."

Jennifer had said nothing, though the way her expression gave way to her true feelings about staying longer. She sighs softly and looks up at Helena, "Looks like the new home will have to wait, huh?"

A thrumming "Mmhm," was her answer and she lifts her feeding hand and squeezes Jennifer's shoulder. Ignoring the cringe under her hand, Helena would never consider feeding on the woman. She knew her name, and in the past few hours in the cave, she had learned of her home, parents, and a place called 'med school.'

"We will need to find shelter before day break," she says, looking pointedly at the Commander.

He met her gaze, his own eyes matching her hazy glow of blue in the low light. His nod was curt, not resenting of her authority. Slowly he turned and began a climb up the steep dune on the eastern side of the valley. He intended to circle the area for a spot close to the gate. The humans would more than likely search there first, and then pass over the facility.

"It's like we're being herded," Rodney whispers to John as he follows Todd without question.

"A bit," John yawns.

Rodney bit back his own yawn, catching the urge from John. Both Helena and Jennifer were unable to stop their answering yawns.

"What time is it?" Jennifer asks, rubbing her left eye in an attempt to keep it from closing on her.

"Four sixteen, Atlantis time," John replies after hitting the backlight on his watch again.

"I hope we find a spot soon," Jennifer murmurs, watching Todd walk ahead of them.

"I could carry you if you need to rest," Helena offers, having carried many a youngling on her back (for she lacked the hip spread to tote one in the proper manner), when they became worn out from play fighting.

"Oh, no. No, I'll be fine. I just don't like being out at night," Jennifer says quickly.

She had begun to wonder if this Wraith had a mental deficiency. Something was a little off. Something in her eyes that Jennifer didn't want to trust, but couldn't help doing so. It would certainly explain why Helena had never been picked for a Hive. It didn't fit with her level headedness, but this wasn't her area of specialty. Todd would know, Jennifer mused, not particularly liking the idea of asking him something like that.

It had been only ten minutes, by John's watch since they left the valley. He stifled another on coming yawn and double times to catch up with Todd. The Wraith, despite his years, seemed to have an endless amount of energy; though he slowed enough for John to walk comfortably along side him.

"So what are you doing here?" he asks finally, knowing poor Helena hadn't been able to get much out of him. He gave her credit for trying.

"As I said, my Hive received a distress signal."

"And you went alone? Cut the bull shit Todd, I know there's something you aren't telling me. There always is."

Todd glances down at him and his nostrils flare wide in a sigh. "It is nothing you should concern yourself with, Sheppard."

"Yeah right. Does it have anything to do with what killed all those kids?"

"It does not." Todd replies flatly, turning his attention back to the route ahead. He scanned the landscape for any indication of a cave, or animal burrow large enough to house them all. Reaching up, he scratches at the sensory pits on either side of his nose, clearing them of dust. It cleared the landscape's heat signatures; the rodents just beneath the sand's surface shone like beacons.

"Well what was so damned important that you had to come down personally?" John asks after a moment. Even if it wasn't significant, the want to know was eating at his curiosity. Not to mention, something that Todd was eager to get, was usually something they needed to know about.

"If you discovered something that would greatly aid your species against the Wraith, would you give tell of it to me so easily?" Todd asks. His voice was strained and biting, growing tired of the prying.

Scratching the back of his head John says, "Yeah, good point there."

A tense silence reverberated between them as they walked, John veered off path a few times to look between rock formations and close to the spindly trees that dotted the dunes at random.

He walked around the trunk of one of those scaly looking trees and relieves himself out of view before heading down to check on the cluster of rocks jutting up between two dunes. Glancing back to make sure the group was still in view, he sees Helena pause to watch him before resuming her place behind Jennifer and Rodney.

It was cool here; the spot was like a wind tunnel and chilled his sweaty skin. His shirt felt like ice against him as the wind whipped it against his chest. He doubted it was a nice during the day.

He runs his hand over the rock's smooth surface and squats down. The sand was damp. Digging down, he sees water begin to pool in the hole he had scratched out. With a grunt he stands back up and jogs back into view. Todd had stopped, waiting for him.

"Get down here!" He yells up to them.

Helena waited for Rodney and Jennifer to begin the awkward decent down the side of the dune before following. Half sliding, half running, they met up with him.

"What is it?" Rodney asks, catching his breath.

"Water. Refill your canteens and take a breather." He says, glancing up to see Todd still at the top of the dune.

"He is keeping watch," Helena says as she passes John. "As a male is supposed to do."

"Was that some criticism?" he asks, following her to the rocks.

She lifts her brows in a shrug and bends down to scoop up some of the cloudy water. John half expected it to sink into her feeding slit, but she splashes it over her face and shakes her head. He waited until Rodney and Jennifer had finished before refilling his own canteen.

Jennifer had taken a hesitant sip of the water and wrinkles her nose. "It tastes like dirt."

"It's better than nothing," John says and stretches. "How long till dawn Helena?"

The damp faced Wraith looks up at the sky, "About one hour and a quarter."

They joined Todd, who had taken a seat while he waited. The Wraith stands fluidly and continues walking. "You have gotten enough to last till the next nightfall?" he asks John.

"We should, if Jennifer and Rodney are careful about rationing."

Todd snorts and John cracks a smile, "How much do you want to bet Rodney's complaining about dying of thirst within an hour after day break?"

The Wraith looks at him. "How much of what?"

"Shit, didn't think of that. Usually it's money, but what use do you have for it?" He shrugs.

"Hey Sheppard." Rodney calls from behind them.

Both he and Todd stop to look back.

"What?" He asks.

"There's something down there," he says, pointing down the west side of the dune. He shows John the life sign's detector when he approached them. The blip on the screen was weak.

"I don't see anything," John says and looks down the dune. All he could see was a tree and some grass just as red as the sand.

"We should check." Jennifer says, biting her lip as she scans the ground for anything that could possibly be a person. She starts to stumble down the dune, "You can stay up there if you want," she says over her shoulder.

As John guessed she would, Helena followed her like a faithful dog. He watched as the Wraith trotted down the dune, her dusky hair bouncing in contrast to Jennifer's wavy gold.

"Should we go down there?" Rodney asks him.

"They'll be fine. I honestly think Helena would risk her life for Jennifer."

"Her Overseer wanted her for himself. She is too docile," Todd murmured.

"I thought they were neutered."

Todd's brows furrow as he processes the new word, quickly guessing the meaning. "It lowers their sex drive but does not eliminate it entirely. It is fertilization before a choosing that must be avoided."

"Not a nice surprise to give the husband, huh?"

"It would risk losing support from that Hive." He tilts his head and watches Helena vanish behind the tree's portly trunk. "Her sensitive nature would get her overthrown quickly. While her even temper would be a welcome reprieve, it would bring rise of rebellion."

"Wouldn't she be safe with your Hive? You guys aren't exactly run of the mill," Rodney asks.

"If she were under constant protection," he says. "While I trust my crew, I would not trust them to not take advantage of her."

"So she has a big 'rape me' sign stamped to her forehead," John mutters.

Todd did not answer, in stead he began to walk down the dune as Jennifer came back into view. She waved up at them, yelling something that was too soft to hear. Between the wind and her pitch, John could only pick up a "hey."

John and Rodney followed Todd, taking the same path as he. The Wraith's foot prints sunk deep into the sand and provided a set of makeshift stairs for them. John rushed past Todd once they made it to the valley floor to see Jennifer and Helena sitting beside what first appeared to be a rock.

As he got closer he saw the rock was actually a woman huddled into a ball, covered in a pale gray robe similar in style to Helena's but much thicker, like wool. The Wraith rolls the woman over and frowns.

"Holy shit, it's a Wraith with eyebrows," Rodney gasps when he reaches the group.

Jennifer gave Rodney a look that John knew wouldn't bode well when they got back to Atlantis. He didn't think Jennifer had ever been on a mission with Rodney in inhospitable conditions before. He decided to tell her to try and tune it out once they found shelter.

"She a hybrid." Jennifer murmurs, brushing the rich red hair away from the unconscious woman's face. "It's weird though. She doesn't really look like any of Michael's creations." She hesitantly reaches out to touch her cheek where the sensory pits should have been.

"Maybe she's a new model they're testing out," John says with a shrug and looks back up to the dune - as Rodney mutters: "Or an old model they dumped out here."

"Look, we need to get going before the sun comes up."

"I'm not leaving her here, Colonel. She'll get roasted when the sun comes up," Jennifer says sternly.

"Fine, but I'm not lugging her around."

Without a word Helena shifts to her knees and lifts the woman like a child, cradled in her arms. "She is light enough not to be much of a burden."

"Problem solved. Let's get moving."

Jennifer frowns as they begin to move around the rocks. Was it because the woman had Wraith in her that Colonel Sheppard seemed so ready to leave her? She slows down to walk along side Helena.

"Something is bothering you," Helena grunts, adjusting the woman in her arms.

"It's nothing," Jennifer replies.

Helena drums her fingers over the hybrid's robe. "You are agitated. It cannot be 'nothing'."

"It's just…I don't know." She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs. She looks up and smiles when she notices Helena watching her. It unnerved her slightly, those large eyes and smooth face.

Thankfully, Rodney called back to them, and Helena broke the stare to see what he was yelling about.

"We found a spot," Rodney says when they catch up to him.

"You mean Todd found a spot?" Jennifer asks.

"I helped."

She smiles and squeezes his arm. "At least we'll be out of the sun."

Following him, she slides down the side of the dune, more for fun than anything else. Helena was quick behind her, taking careful steps in the imprints left behind by either Todd or John. The hybrid was hardly jostled, held in the vice grip Helena had on her. Her red crowned head was resting on the Wraith's chest, nestled by the fabric more than her breasts, for she certainly lacked the ample bosom of a child bearing woman.

The shelter was larger than she expected, a cluster of thorny trees hid the entrance to the underground cavern from view. Once she and Helena entered after Rodney, they were greeted by a massive entry chamber. The ceiling was roughly nine feet and it branched off into three directions. She could see the first was a small room; the others were too dark to know as the up-turned flashlights only revealed so much. She reaches into her bag's outer pouch for her own and clicked it on.

Dying moon light filtered in from the holes created by the trees' hardy roots. Jennifer looks up and squints at the pinpoints of pale light. "This is much better than the last one."

"I preferred the last," Helena says in passing, taking the hybrid to the small room and laying her on the floor.

Todd had vanished into one of the darkened archways and Rodney and John wandered around the perimeter of the cave, Jennifer joined Helena. "She may have suffered a heat stroke," she says, placing her hand on the hybrid's neck. Her pulse was slow, but still strong, as if she were in a deep sleep.

"One of the sand burrowers could have bitten her," Helena says.

"What are those?" She asks, setting her flashlight on its butt so it cast enough light for her to see, albeit dimly, where everything was.

"It is a general name for all the sand dwelling creatures. The majority are poisonous. They burrow under the sand and wait for prey to walk over them, such as the one you encountered."

"Thanks again," Jennifer says.

She pulls the over robe off the hybrid carefully and folds it. Tucking it under her head, she begins checking her for bite marks. The hyrbrid's arms and legs were bare, and she wore no shoes. Her feet were heavily calloused, warped from bunions and hammer toed, though Jennifer wasn't sure if it was from small shoes. It was more than likely hereditary given the wear on the bottom of her feet.

The exposed extremities were free of any marks other than the stray scar and the freckles that were scattered about. Removing her thin gray dress, she checks her torso. Her body was slender, very Wraith like but she bore a minute version of the wide hips and larger breasts of a human.

"She looks so odd," Helena murmurs, reaching out and tracing a finger down the hybrid's stomach. "It is like a human in Wraith skin."

"Help me roll her over," Jennifer says ignoring the strange and slightly creepy way Helena looked at the hybrid. It reminded her of the Russian woman from the graveyard shift, how she looked at people as if they were specimens.

Helena's brows furrow for a moment and Jennifer felt a knot in her throat. It sunk when she simply reached down and lifted the hybrid's side to ease her onto her stomach.

"There."

Jennifer leans down to get a closer view of the festering bite mark. It was ugly, oozing creamy pus. The teeth marks were relatively even, but wavered as if she had tried to pull away when the bite landed. Her body was trying to heal itself; the wounds were soft edged and lacked any evidence of blood.

Helena wrinkles her nose. "It smells rancid," she says and sits up.

Her bag was next to her and she rifles through the supplies she had brought. It was basic first aid needs. They weren't supposed to be there long. I should have listened to Rodney, she thinks and lets out a little sigh as she pulls out a tube of antiseptic cream.

The little moist wipes would do nicely to clean the area, since water was so scarce. Jennifer didn't want to waste what she had collected earlier. Gloves. They were a definite necessity for this. Even if it wasn't toxic and foul, she didn't like the idea of not being able to wash her hands afterwards. The pack of latex gloves was wedged at the bottom of the bag, under her iPod and emergency tampons.

Helena watched her as she pulled the blue gloves on. "What are those made from?"

"Latex," she answers, though she doubted Helena knew what latex was. If she did, the Wraith were far kinkier than she had fantasized about (though she would never admit she did think about them in such a manner).

Gingerly she wipes the dried fluid and the fresh that seeped from the tooth marks. If she put just the slightest pressure around the area, it oozed and the smell nearly made her gag.

"Oh that is revolting."

Jennifer looks over her shoulder and sees Rodney standing at the archway with a sickened look on his face and a bit of a green tinge. She frowns at him and turns back to begin spreading the cream over the open areas.

"Then don't look," she says, tearing the corner of the tube and squeezing it onto her fingertips.

As lightly as she could, she spreads it over the injury. The medicinal smells helped cut back the stink of rotting flesh. "Helena, could you help me lift her? I want to put something under her so she won't have to lie on dirt."

The Wraith pulls off her outer robe and sets it to the side as she reaches forward to lift her side. She tucks the robe under that side and lowers her, then rolls her onto the other side to let Jennifer pull the robe flat.

"That's better." Jennifer says and smoothes the hybrid's hair away from her face with a smile. "At least we can try and make her comfortable."

"Jennifer?"

"Yeah Rodney?" she asks, not realizing he never left.

"Could you take a look at this bump?"

"Sure, come here."

"Not here…not, not in front of anyone."

With a shake of her head, she stands up and groans. Her knees were sore and her legs were stiff from sitting on such a hard floor. She hobbles awkwardly to Rodney before looking back at Helena. "I'll be right back."

"It's an ingrown hair," Jennifer says straightening back up and looks at her fingers while Rodney pulled up his boxers.

"I've never seen purplish nipples before."

"Rodney!"

"What? I like your nipples much more Jen, but hers are purple. They're…well you saw them."

Jennifer frowns at Rodney, passing John in the main chamber and entering the room they left the unconscious woman. Both Todd and Helena were keeping watch over her. He must have gone in after she left. Sheppard probably said something, she thinks, hiding her frown. She liked Todd, despite his terrifying demeanor. He had been a pleasure to work with once she got over her initial nervousness.

"The oozing has stopped." Helena says when she notices Jennifer. She was sitting close to the hybrid's head with a damp strip of cloth. It had been torn from the hem of her under robe and she was cleaning the dust from her cheeks. "Do you think she will live?"

Jennifer blinks and looks up at Helena's long face. "I don't know," she replies honestly with a sad smile. "We can just hope her body can expel the venom, if it was what you said it was."

She nods and leans forward to brush the hair that had become stuck to the hybrid's temple.

Finding a comfortable spot on the stone floor, Jennifer watches Helena fuss over the feverish woman. She had never considered Wraith females to have any maternal instincts, but the current theories attesting to that was shattered by this willowy Wraith. Her finely boned fingers adjusted the clothing folded under the woman's head and constantly worked to keep her brows free of sweat.

"Do either of you know her?"

"No," Todd murmurs from his spot against the cave wall. He had found himself a comfortable wedge in the tiny chamber.

"I figured you might, there aren't exactly many female hybrids out there," Jennifer mumbles. "So," she says to fight off the silence that made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. "Why did the W…you pick the desert for a breeding facility? The other side of the planet is more hospitable, isn't it?"

"It is. The facility was constructed by those who originally came from the forested portion of the planet. My Overseer explained that the move was caused by encroaching human populations."

"But, isn't having more humans around good for y'all?"

"Not for a breeding facility," Todd replies. "Only a small population is required to sustain the caretakers and the younglings after puberty. A larger population brings with it the risk of rebellion."

"Oh." Jennifer gives a tight smile to hide her embarrassment at sounding stupid amongst such ancient beings. Though, she reminded herself, only Todd was truly ancient; Helena claimed to be in her early thirties (though she didn't know if Wraith years were any different than her own), and the hybrid couldn't have been older than her.

She looks up when she hears Helena moving; the Wraith slid closer to her and reaches out with her left hand. Jennifer's immediate reaction was to press herself as flat as possible against the wall, but Helena only took a handful of her hair. She tucks her hair behind her ear and sits back. "Your hair is dirty; you shouldn't have it hanging in your face."

Did that really come out of a Wraith's mouth? Jennifer cannot help but stare at the alien woman who sat less than an arm's length from her.

"You have spent too much time caring for younglings," Todd quips.

"At least my life had purpose," she shoots back without looking at him, though Jennifer notes a slight wrinkling of her nose and a hint of teeth.

Todd gives a grunt, lifting his brows in a shrug.

It confused Jennifer at first, how Helena would watch Todd without him knowing, but become snippy and irritable when talking to him. She liked to guess Helena didn't know how to approach a male and was madly in love with him. It was a fantasy born from a cheap novel she had read a week before this mission. However, it was more likely that Helena was simply doing everything she could not to scratch his eyes out.

She pretends to relax, despite the difficulty of doing so in front of two (three if the hybrid's feeding slit wasn't vestigial) Wraith. Helena had returned her attention back to the hybrid, hiding her scowl behind the curtain of her hair.

"How long do your people typically take to realize a team has gone missing?" Todd asks after a moment.

"Um, we were supposed to report back…" she checks her watch - "about six hours ago. Is there a planet with a gate near by?"

"Yes."

"Well that's good."

She steals a glance at Todd as he closes his eyes and his chin dips towards his chest. She envied his calm demeanor. Should I go sit with Rodney and John? she thinks, looking at the hybrid. Her fine brows were knitted and her hairline was damp with sweat. Jennifer didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone, not when her breathing was that shallow. At least I'll know if Wraith snore. She grins to herself and takes off her jacket to cushion her head.


	6. Chapter 6

John woke with a start to wind muted crackling. He rubs his hand over his face and sits up with a groan. The stone floor had left him stiff and his joints felt as if they were filled with sand. What's going on? he thinks irritably.

Standing, he hobbles a few steps before his legs loosen. Crossing the main chamber, he passes the smaller room and peeks inside. Todd was slumped against the wall, snoring, though to John, it sounded far more like a diesel engine's rumbling. Jennifer had curled up in a corner with her pack tucked under her head and her flashlight near her face, still lit but very dim. Helena and the hybrid weren't there.

His brows knit together as he double checks, thinking that his mind must be playing a trick on him. The hybrid had been unconscious and feverish, there was no way she'd be up and about this quick, even with her Wraith blood.

Ducking down, he enters the room and lightly shakes Todd's shoulder. The Wraith cracks an eye at him and mumbles a sleep slurred: "What?"

"Helena and the hybrid are gone." he whispers, not wanting to wake Jennifer.

Todd groans as he rises to a hunched stand, reluctant to waste energy, and follows John out of the room where he can straighten. John winces as the Wraith's back creaks. "Gotta love the rock bed, huh?" he asks with a light grin.

"They cannot have gone far." Todd says, dismissing John's sarcasm laden question.

The light filtering in through the ceiling's openings highlighted the floor in splotches. No evidence of foot prints or fluids could be seen by either of them. From the center, John could see Rodney stretched out on the floor with and arm over his eyes. Two empty energy bar wrappers lay crumpled beside him.

"Checking outside first would be our best bet." John says. If they had gone out, the heat would prevent them from traveling very far. He didn't want to think some creature had slipped in and taken them deeper into the cave, or under the sand. Logic told him the hybrid would definitely have been snatched by a predator in her current state, but Helena? The female was strong and would have put up a fight. Shit. The noise that had woken him may have been her. What the hell am I doing? I'm not risking my life for a loony Wraith and a half dead hybrid.

Todd nodded, and turned towards the entrance. He glances back to see John standing still, "Would you rather take the cavern alone while I check out here?" he asks.

"No." John says, approaching the Wraith without looking at the two black passages behind him, "I was just wondering why I'm considering looking for them."

"It is in your nature." Todd states in a matter of fact tone. And you woke me far too early, so you are going to see this through, Sheppard, he thinks bitterly.

"Yeah?"

The Wraith ignored him as he walks the steep incline towards the mouth of the cavern, so superbly hidden by the skeletal branches above them. John was close behind him, noting the way the branches snared Todd's disheveled hair and how the Wraith didn't so much as flinch as he pulled out of them and into the open.

The air outside was just a dry and skin boiling hot as it was the day before. John squints against the harsh light and looks around. "I sure as hell hope they didn't get far." He mutters, taking a few steps ahead of Todd.

Bright sunlight and the reflective red sand made it difficult for the both of them. John couldn't help but feel some smugness at the Wraith's obvious discomfort, while his sunglasses managed to shield some of the glare. He shields his eyes further with his hand above the nose bridge of the glasses.

Sand stretched before the two, curling upwards towards the dune ahead. The jagged knife rocks jutted in clusters, two to the right of them, five to the left. I'll take the right first; less to search, he thinks to himself as he begins to walk towards the first of the two groups.

The sand between the two was still slightly damp. The sun was slowly evaporating what water had been there. No sign of Helena or the hybrid. The wind would have destroyed any foot prints, if there were any to begin with.

John glances over his shoulder to see Todd walking towards the adjacent cluster of stones, taking the cue from John's action without a word. With a shrug, he begins to make his way to the second set of rocks.

The sun made his skin feel tight under the suit that grated against his torso and inner thighs. Todd frowns to himself in discomfort as he checks the perimeter of the second cluster of stones. Closer to the trees, this cluster still retained most of their nightly water supply.

Squatting down, he rakes his left hand through the damp sand, bringing up tracks of water within the claw marks. It pools into the palm of his hand, and he brings it up and over his face. It was a brief relief from the heat beating against his back.

With a grunt Todd stands to check the next closest spot. As he rounds the rough side of the first stone, he sees the small naked, huddled form of the hybrid. She was curled in the center of the stones covered in a light film of red dust, saved from the morning sun.

Todd grasps her shoulder and pushes her over. Her lips were badly chapped, but other wise; she showed no signs of injury. The hybrid's lashes flutter and her eyes open. "Who are you?" she croaks.

"How did you get out here?"

She lifts herself onto her elbows, where they wobbled unsteadily for a moment. "I don't remember…just pieces; little bits of pictures that make no sense." Her brows furrow and she looks up at the Wraith. "There was a pure blood, that much I know." she says, "but she…she…what did she do?" The hybrid finally draws herself up into a sitting position, with her legs tucked under. The movement swung her red hair forward, where she could see it had been roughly sheered to her shoulders. It is only hair, she tells herself, He cannot see me cry over such a thing.

With a sigh, Todd stands and waits for the hybrid to do the same. When she does, and stumbles, he takes her by the arm and leads her towards the cave entrance. John was already waiting under the shade of the trees.

"Good to see you're up and about," he says to the unsteady hybrid. "Did you find any sign of Helena?"

"No." Todd replies. You lazy human.

"Helena?" The hybrid looks at John for the answer.

"The other Wraith, gotta call her something." he replies, ducking into the cave entrance.

Jennifer and Rodney were awake and waiting in the main chamber when the three entered. They were arguing, over what, John couldn't hear and Todd wondered why they were bickering over such a petty incident.

It was Jennifer who saw them first, and she turns away from Rodney abruptly, rushing over to the hybrid. "Is she alright?" she asks, looking over the naked woman for any evident injuries. Save for a few scratches on her knees and elbows, she seemed fine. Jennifer walks around Todd to see her back; the wound had healed, leaving an ugly, puffy dotting of scars.

"She doesn't appear to be ill." Todd says, releasing her arm only to grip her shoulders when she sways. "Weak, but not ill." he finishes.

"What about Helena?" She asks, returning to stand in front of the hybrid.

"No sign of her." John says as he passes her. The rock closest to the left wall made an excellent seat, a cold uncomfortable seat, but it let his legs take a much needed break. "Can't find any foot prints and our friend here can't remember anything."

"It's Myrna." the hybrid says quietly.

Jennifer smiles at her as John continues, "Well Myrna somehow managed to get up, heal up, and Helena vanishes. So who wants to solve this puzzle?"

"Maybe Helena finally snapped, or Myrna went cannibal." Rodney offers, pointedly looking past Jennifer to John.

"Rodney!" Jennifer hisses.

Taking Myrna by the hand, Jennifer leads her away from Todd and into the small chamber they had slept in, "You need some clothes. I have a spare pair of underwear you could use. They're clean," she smiles awkwardly and begins picking through the contents of her bag. "That robe you had on is alright. Helena shook the sand out." And despite what she thought of Rodney's accusation, she stole a glance at Myrna's feeding hand, looking for any sign of blood. To her relief, there was none.

Myrna watches her, head tilted slightly, "Why can't I remember anything? I know why I came here, where I'm from, but then…nothing." She sits next to Jennifer.

"It could be due to extreme stress, or you may have suffered a blow to the head. Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking."

"The other continent in a village close to the old Wraith facility," she replies, shifting so she can cross her legs.

"Is that…how, why you're a hybrid?"

"My mother raised me to believe my father died when I was very little. I found out from my grandmother that he was visiting that facility. I'm not sure why. It hasn't been used in so long." She shrugs and takes the underwear Jennifer offers. Scooting forward, she wiggles them on and continues: "He met my mother while she and the other women were gathering. She didn't run fast enough…and by the first harvest, I was born."

"I didn't think Wraith could breed with humans."

"The gods have a funny way of making things work." Myrna says with a half smile.

Jennifer returns the smile and watches her pick up the robe. Myrna shakes it out and wraps it around her self, then forces her arms through the tangled sleeves. "I was allowed to be around with the other children until I turned seventeen," Myrna picks up the iPod Jennifer had set on the ground while looking for the underwear. She turns the small device over in her hand and the cold metal lays flat against her feeding slit. "The chief exiled me a month after my birthday." she unplugs then re-plugs the headphones as she speaks, enjoying the opportunity to talk to someone who wasn't afraid of her. "I overheard that there was an active Wraith facility across the sea, so I decided to come here."

"What if they didn't accept you? I mean…they aren't exactly the friendliest race out there." Jennifer asks. She had not noticed Todd ducking into the chamber and seating himself in the spot he had slept.

"I didn't consider it at the time. It took me ten years to find the facility," she laughs drily, "And I find nothing but corpses."

"When did you reach the facility?' Todd asks as Jennifer jumps with a start and gasps: "Oh Jesus! When did you sneak in?"

"Two days ago." Myrna replies after Jennifer settles.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing but the dead."

Todd's eyes narrow: "The isolation chamber, was it locked?"

"The what?"

"The room at the center of the facility."

Myrna looks at the ceiling and bites her lower lip. "The round room?"

"Yes."

"The door was open. I checked in it and no one was there."

Sitting forward, Jennifer's eyes go wide as she absorbs this. "That's where we found Helena. She said she'd been locked in there when the facility was attacked."

With a shrug: "She lied to you then." Myrna pushes the center button on the iPod and tilts her head as the headphones begin making muted sounds. She turns them over between her thumb and forefinger before placing them closer to her ears.

Don't talk back  
Just drive the car  
Shut your mouth  
I know what you are  
Don't say nothing  
Keep your hands on the wheel  
Don't turn around  
This is for real  
Digging in the dirt  
Stay with me, I need support  
I'm digging in the dirt  
To find the places I got hurt  
Open up the places I got hurt

She smiles to herself, enjoying whoever was singing this and unable to read the text scrolling across the screen that read: Peter Gabriel- Digging in the Dirt.

"Could sh...Helena have killed all of those Wraith alone?" Jennifer dares to ask Todd, scooting closer to him; while Myrna was oblivious to Jennifer moving away while she hummed an off key version of Whole Thing.

The Wraith tilts his head down, chin tucked like those massive lion statues in Rome, and looks at the woman who sat so close to him. "Mentally, she could overpower a single male, if what Myrna says is truth." he says, "I've not seen anything like that in many years."

I wonder how many is many to him. she thinks to herself, looking at his profile. So many angles: harshly prominent cheek bones, sharp brows, a long broad nose and nearly non existent lips. "What was the cause of it when you saw it before?"

"A human beast that the Atlantians eradicated before the War's end." he replies in a tone similar to the droning of a lecture. And I dearly hope it has not reemerged.

"What were they?"

"Humans."

She frowns at him long enough for him to finally regard her and elaborate. "Humans infected by a virus of the Atlantians making. They could be fed upon, but a bite from one would kill a Wraith within a few hours' time."

Jennifer bites her lower lip and sighs. "I only caught a peep of one. It was locked in one of the rooms."

"I didn't see the knuckle walkers." Myrna says suddenly. She had figured out the volume settings and turned the music down when Todd had mentioned the Atlantians. "I checked every room for survivors."

Sucking in a sharp breath, Todd lets loose a harsh sigh. He would need to return to the facility, and did not particularly enjoy the idea of the inevitable sights he'd bear witness to. If she is not lying, they'd still be inside. Or Myrna could have reached the facility far sooner than she claimed. The risks rolled through his mind as Jennifer watched him and Myrna focused on the device she'd become enamored with. The breeding data needs to be recovered, he decides at last, risk or no, it was vital to the Alliance.

His thoughts were disrupted when he feels a warm palm lay over the top of his hand. Jennifer smiles at him awkwardly and squeezes his hand lightly, conflicted with her simple gesture. She stands slowly, careful not to hit her head against the low ceiling, and leaves the cavity to join John and Rodney in the main chamber.


	7. Chapter 7

Heat blurred vision made the entrance passage to the cavern treacherous. One missed step could send the beast tumbling to its death down the steep way to against the unforgiving stones below. Its mouth was dry, and lips cracked; bleeding near black blood that dribbled down its sun baked, midnight flesh dotted with the gray of peeling skin.

The shriek of welcome pierced its pointed ears and they flatten against its large skull in response.

"What the fuck is that!" a male voice shouts, crackling with lack of water.

It took a moment to recognize the voices, the faces and the scents all mingling with one another, assaulting the beast's olfactory: Musky leather and acrid spice, chemical fruit, decaying leaves, and two unidentifiable putrid artificial musks.

The long ears swivel forward at the sound of a gun being cocked. It lifts its head to see the human, distantly knowing the gunman as John Sheppard, aiming at the wide space between its eyes.

Decaying leaves filled its nostrils as the hybrid stands and approaches, despite Sheppard's command to stay back.

I remember you, short faced knuckle-walker. "You're the one who took me," she says. "What happened to you, Helena?"

"Helena!" Jennifer gasps.

Myrna squats in front of the disfigured squashed muzzle, her lips pulling into a frown. "How did the knuckle-walkers turn you?" I thought only humans were susceptible to the curse. She didn't understand it; Helena should have died when her body began its first shift.

She had seen just that twelve years ago. A troop of Wraith visited her village to procure viable breeding stock. Her grandmother had hidden her in the root cellar, where only a small rectangular window sat high on the left wall. Standing on her tip toes, she was able to pull her upper body up on the sill and sneak a quick look outside.

The Commander's boots passed her face while she fought to keep her presence hidden from their always probing minds. A second pair of less ornate booted feet follow, slower and they stumbled. Pressing her cheek against the glass, she was able to see him.

Pale, more so than the rest, his veins stood stark against his flesh. The lower caste Wraith favored his left arm and the fingers jerked involuntarily.

When he came into view of the village center the shout of "Bitten!" rang out amongst the crowd of humans who had been forced into the open. It was easily recognizable. The slump of posture, the way the body glistened with sweat, despite the frigid weather.

The people back away when the Wraith drops to his knees, retreating to their homes and shops. His Commander turns a shocked face to his compatriot, unable to mask his emotion with the cool aloofness. Nostrils had flared wide in fear; he knew what this was. All the old ones did.

The fallen Wraith's skin darkened to a near black-blue as blood burst from his veins, slowly. It crept from his spine and spread over his body like seeping paint. When his organs began to shift, it was then the blood pours free of every opening it could find. The pressure building within him, until the inevitable: organ after organ expanded and burst all the while he shrieked in agony, unable to die while his body attempted to make the repairs.

She had looked away before his Commander showed a rare act of mercy, and ended the pain. The wet crunch of the neck snapping still sounded fresh in her mind and Myrna could not suppress the shudder.

Large slit pupiled eyes stare at the hybrid. The sclera blotted with starbursts of blood, leaving little of the blue, and her irises pin points of light against them. Intelligence was overridden by pain and the instinct to feed that drove all creatures. Dark, crooked teeth flash with a glisten of blood flecked foam as the lips rise in a snarl, so close, her prey was sitting within arm's reach.

"Myrna!"

Blue energy crackles over the beast-Helena's body, locking her in mid lunge before her limbs crumpled beneath her. A second blast insures she would not shake herself from the paralysis immediately. In her weakened state, the blasts could potentially kill her.

Jennifer steps out from behind Todd's back, when the Wraith slips his stunner back into the belted holster. Rushing over to the hybrid, she checks over her arms for signs of bite marks. "Are you alright?" she asks.

Myrna nods with a shaken "mmhm." Lifting her trembling hand, she touches her sheered hair, knowing how it had been removed now. Those terrible needle teeth lay exposed to her, inches from her spittle covered knee. Helena's great purple tinted tongue lolled on the floor like a slug.

Myrna's arms were unscathed, though Jennifer still looks them over once more just to be sure. If the movies had any semblance of truth, once nick from a tooth could infect the Hybrid. Feeling, rather than hearing Todd approach, she turns to look up at the imposing figure behind her.

He looks past the hybrid and Jennifer, down at the unconscious creature. "Do you have anything with which we can restrain it?" he asks Sheppard without so much as a glance up from the beast Helena.

"Yeah," Sheppard replies, releasing the heavy breath he had held when Helena took an offensive stance.

The packs were clustered against one of the walls, away from where to group slept to prevent the urge to snack on the dwindling food supply. John rifled through his pack, pushing past a few energy bars and a copy of Hustler. The rope was neatly tucked against the roll of toilet paper he always carried with him to avoid using poisonous leaves again.

As he begins to rise with rope in hand, John turns to face Todd's black encased neck. "Jesus. I thought we talked about the whole personal space bubble." he says, thrusting the rope into the Wraith's left hand.

John noticed Todd's eyes flicker down to the pack, knowing exactly what the Wraith saw based on the disapproving look he received when he met that reptilian gaze. Todd had made it very clear he did not care for porn in any form during one of their nightly chats on Earth.

John refused to admit to himself that he misses those evenings with the Wraith.

"At least it's not as nasty as the shit McKay watches. Two girls one cup has nothing on…"

"It would be prudent to shut your mouth." Todd interrupts, refusing to dwell on that memory he so desperately wished he could erase.

Sheppard laughs and claps Todd on the back, careful to avoid the raised spinal ridge. "Ah-h-h, that face you made will always be remembered."

Todd's upper lip lifts briefly, but long enough for John to pick up on the subtle gesture. Removing his hand, he steps back, away from the Wraith to let him finish his task. John knew that look and knew exactly what could counter it. He had never seen Todd relax, not until he exposed the Wraith to Blue Oyster Cult. The Wraith actually expressed his fondness of the song: Veteran of the Psychic War, rather than the usual grunt if asked if he enjoyed something.

Jennifer watches while Todd crouches beside Helena. He loops the rope around her left wrist, pulling it to her right to bind them both. Without them, she couldn't move unless she could shift back. It was a risk he didn't care to take, despite knowing most could not move between the forms. However, Wraith were not supposed to become hosts for the virus, so he grabs her ankles and secures them to her wrists. Stretching the remaining length upwards, he bites roughly a foot from the rope to form a make shift muzzle.

"We're keeping her in here?" Jennifer asks when she slides next to Todd as he checks the security of the knots.

Myrna had long scooted away from the beast close to the packs. Her knees were drawn up to her chest as the comprehension of how close she had possibly come to death hit her.

A deep "mmhm" was all Todd offers Jennifer in response. He'd rather ignore the obvious question. It seemed to be an Earth based human trait, but he did acknowledge that she spoke so she would not ask again.

That wasn't the answer Jennifer had wanted. Biting her lip, she looks over Helena's bound body. The beast was lumpy, as if all her bones had not formed properly. Uneasily, she reaches forward and lifts one eye lid in secret hope that the stun had killed it. The almond shaped pupil constricts and Helena jerks her head towards the hand, straining against her muzzle.

"What the fuck?" Rodney shouts, backing up so that Sheppard was in front of him.

With a yelp Jennifer snatches her hand back, instinctively grabbing Todd's arm.

The Wraith pauses for a moment while the woman hung on his arm. Her breasts were warm against his arm. The burst from Sheppard's pistol shook him from the minor distraction. Turning, he watches the beast's head drop to the floor with a meaty thud. The hole between her eyes seeps clotting black blood.

"Oh my god," Jennifer murmurs. Her eyes widen in horror as the beast's body jerks with a squish. Slowly it quivers while bones move under the skin. The muzzle shortens, the legs thin, and the great bulk seemed to deflate in seconds. Before them lay Helena as she was when she was last seen. Her blood shot eyes stare blankly at John's feet.

Sliding past Todd, Jennifer carefully lifts Helena's chin. "It looks like she's been dead for hours," she says.

"Move aside, Doctor Keller," Todd says, to avoid the gesture of pushing her out of the way. In a spooked state, these humans could be more trigger happy than usual. They may assume any gesture, no matter how innocent, aggressive.

The knife he always carried on his person flashes into view as he slips it from its sheath in the hidden fold beneath his wrist. Rolling Helena's body onto its back, he presses the knife into her flesh, just below the resistant sternum. Ignoring John's: "What the hell are you doing?" and Jennifer's similar, less explicative question, he slices into her. Cutting downward, he opens her abdomen and pulls the flesh back.

It was just as he had thought. Inside her body, Helena was a bloody liquefied mass. He did not realize how close Jennifer was until she gasps beside him and he felt her breath on his shoulder. "Helena, as you call her, died in a sense, when her body began to shift."

"But how was she still moving?" John asks.

"Her brain was functioning on a basic level while her body was trying to repair itself," Todd says as he wipes the knife clean in Helena's hair. He was careful to avoid coming in contact with the coagulated blood.

"So why did she come back here?" John asks.

"She probably thought this was home," Jennifer answers. She looks up at John, to avoid seeing the gelatinous mass any more than she needed. "Think of it like a zombie, I guess… I really don't want to think that, but Helena was essentially running on two things: the need for food and to find a safe place."

"Alrighty, so Wraith become zombie werewolves when they get bitten. That's just fantastic," John mutters. He rubs a hand over his face and looks at the body. It stunk to high heavens. "Either we move her or it'll be us doing the moving. I really don't want to spend another night with a rotting Wraith if we're stuck here any longer."

Jennifer frowns, but knew they needed to get Helena away from everyone. She didn't want to risk contamination, if any of the blood accidentally came in contact with someone. I certainly don't want to be a werewolf.

It was Todd who rises from a crouch to face John, "I will dispose of her." He pauses and glances at Jennifer when she moves to stand, "When the sun sets, leave the cave and return to the gate site, I will meet you there."

"It's going to take that long to bury her?" Rodney asks.

"No. Data needs to be collected from the facility, and it will be quicker to travel alone."

"But those things are in there," Jennifer says, pointedly keeping her eyes away from the body behind her.

"If he wants to play with zombies and get eaten, let him. We need to worry about getting home." John says. He holsters his pistol and looks up: the opening in the ceiling filtered in orange light. "It'll be dark soon. Everyone get in gear and be ready to move out in an hour."

Jennifer follows Todd into the small room they had shared during the day. He retrieves the scraps of clothing Helena had left near the back wall. "Are you sure you want to go alone?" he hears Jennifer ask from the left corner.

Despite the darkness, he could see her clearly in shades of blue. "I cannot risk being caught in the open when the day breaks for a third time. My water supply is running low."

"We have some extra water."

"Drinking water will not replenish it and I do not wish to tarnish my welcome with your people to get what I need."

The Wraith saw that his words sank in when she nods. "How does that…outfit work?"

"It prevents my body from expelling excess water. It collects what does release and keeps it close to my skin to keep me hydrated. Unfortunately, the suit can withstand only a handful of days in extreme conditions before it fails."

"Oh," That's kinda gross, Jennifer thinks and her nose wrinkles, giving away what she thought. A blush colors her sun baked, showing near white against the blue glow of her body as he laughs.

With fabric in hand, he moves to leave as Jennifer says: "Wait."

Turning to her, he tilts his head, a gesture she could faintly see in the near black. With a slight hesitation, she approaches Todd and wraps her arms around his torso in a brief, tight hug. She felt his body tense against her. He smelled heavily of damp leather and uncut cigars. "Good luck."

Todd gives her a brusque nod, perplexed by the affable gesture. He recognizes it as a hug, and knew the many implications of it. Once she released him, the Wraith took a step back. She had averted her eyes and remains where she was when he ducks out of the room to see Rodney's accusing glare.

Humans became offensive in many situations, and the right to a female was among the top. However, the embrace Jennifer had offered seemed only friendly. She gave off no indication of desire or any interest further than his well being. He'd been wrong before and considers that and perhaps her means of showing sexual attraction was far different than the humans he had encountered. Either way, Rodney posed no threat to him. He could huff all he wanted over his presumption.

The torn robe and desert suit would provide a cover for the corpse. If the Lantean's rescue failed to arrive, he did not wish to sleep in a cave contaminated with Helena's blood. The fear the Wraith held in the back of his mind still sends a chill up his spine and set a weight in the pit of his stomach.

As carefully as he could, Todd wraps the body securely. A brief glance over his hands ensures that no fluids touched his skin. Only the splatter of brain matter and blood from the gunshot remained. The area was small enough to be easily avoided if they were forced to return.

"If you aren't back three hours after dawn, you're on your own." John says when Todd hefts the body over his shoulder.

The Wraith nods. With his free hand Todd opens a hidden pocket in the breast of his suit and fastens what looks like a black oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. The exertion from the long trek ahead would suck far too much moisture from him if he went without it.

When Todd was out of sight, Rodney turns to Jennifer: "What the hell was that?"

"A hug, Rodney. You didn't complain when I gave Helena a hug," she replies cuttingly.

"Yeah, well Helena wasn't Todd."

"Rodney, leave it alone," Sheppard snaps. The heat and lack of a real meal was beginning to get to them all. Even Myrna had lapsed into silence. The hybrid was still huddled in the corner, fixated on the blood.

With a sigh, John squats in front of Myrna. "Hey, get up and get ready to go. You're coming with us."

Her eyes meet his for a brief moment, and then lower as she nods.

"We got an hour and fifty three minutes until its dark enough. Put the petty shit behind you," he says pointedly at Rodney, "and get your collective asses in gear."


	8. Chapter 8

Todd's leather covered feet sink into the sand as he lugs the corpse up a steep dune. Helena's body was quite valuable, if his scientists could find out exactly what the virus attacks. It reacted in a similar manner as the modified Hoffan drug, but the results were far more gruesome and hazardous.

The strips of her desert suit prevent the blood from seeping out of the tight wrapping. The Wraith did his utmost best to prevent any risk of infecting himself. It was a demise he did not particularly enjoy seeing himself in.

A slow hour of tedious, rhythmless walking rolls past him as the last of the sun sinks below the darkening horizon. Brilliant oranges and pinks splashed across the sky, with near purple dunes stretched endlessly before him. The Wraith saw beauty in this unforgiving planet. The landscape briefly let his mind wander away from the task at hand and the weight of deadly flesh that lay like a sack of fat over his left shoulder.

Step, step, drag, step, slide: his footfalls were uneven, hidden just below the ridge of the dune. Alone, he would be a clear target for the creatures who hunted during the cool hours. While he was confident in his ability to ward off the largest of the predators on this continent, an injury would decrease his body's already diminishing energy supply. The herds settled near the main river, too far for him to travel in a weakened state with the threat of dawn looming over him.

It was not just timing that bother him. There was intelligence there, he thought, despite Jennifer's assumption. She focused on Myrna and no one else. Todd's eyes narrow briefly as he considers the way Helena had locked on to the Hybrid. It could have been that the Hybrid was seen as the weakest of the group and simply just an easy kill, or the Wraith could settle with the suspicion that clawed at his mind.

I should not have left the humans alone. It was far too late to turn back now. He reassures himself that whatever happens, they could handle; ever resourceful those Earth humans. It was a shame the odd female would no longer be around to protect their doctor.

The wanting of an Overseer ruined a much needed asset to their race. Helena had the potential to make a Queen worth serving if she had been trained properly. The Wraith brushes the thought away; no need to dwell on such an insignificant past event. Helena was dead, as well as the occupants of the entire facility. There were many more hidden throughout the galaxy, but the loss (as small as it was) was still a stinging blow to their race.

Todd heaves a strained sigh and lowers his burden to the pea sand on the shadowed side of the slope. The moonlight here would light his presence like a beacon to any being passing by as his shadow painted the entire side of the dune.

With the weight off his shoulder, the Wraith allows himself a much needed moment of rest. While he would much prefer the flour soft sand in the valley, but it would leave him exposed and risk the temptation of sleep.

Rubbing his left hand over his face, Todd leans back against the rough sand. He could feel the sharp grains through the fabric of the suit. In a way it was comforting to know that his discomfort would keep him awake. The instinct to sleep picked at his mind, to conserve energy, bury into the sand where it was safe and wait for prey to wander by. He knew better. While the primitive survival tactic usually worked, time was of the essence and his cargo had a fast approaching expiration date.

The Wraith found himself in a mess he didn't particularly enjoy; a mess that always seemed to happen when these Earth humans became involved with any business of his. Still, Todd could not bring himself to turn his back on them. He would keep his word, though not for the Gift-bond he shared with Sheppard. His loyalties with these humans lay elsewhere.

"We cannot risk possible defects in a new queen." Todd had said to his second three days before approaching the planet.

They had discussed which options were available to them for the good part of the sleeping cycle of the Hive. The ruse Teyla had allowed them to maintain was becoming difficult to keep alive in the Alliance. The six Queens were becoming suspicious of him once more and responding to a call for help may gain them a Queen out of gratitude.

"It will be difficult to screen them all," the second says, "If we are even allowed equipment during the choosing. If a rival Hive bribes them…"

"I know," Todd rumbles. He knew this fact; it did not require being pointed out. The trait reminded him of the Earth humans and felt his second questioning the amusement he projected.

Shaking his head, Todd says: "I will go alone. With an open distress signal it will be easier to get the information we need." The females would be locked away. Only the Overseers and guards would be able to walk freely.

The second frowns, not masking the reluctance of accepting this plan of action. They needed the records of these females. If the plague had gotten past a female's defenses, then it was of the utmost importance that their work be completed. An inoculation against the Hybrids' terrible imprint on the galaxy would aid their race and bring the Commander into a powerful position. It was a position he did not mind seeing himself serving under; his closeness with this Old One would elevate his status greatly and perhaps gain him command over his own Hive.

The sour faced Wraith hid this ideal behind his reluctance. If the Commander did not return, there were a select few who would challenge him if the position fell open. Eventually, he nods and says: "I will set the course and have a servant insure your suit is in working order."

The Wraith lost track of how long he had been walking. The first moon was directly overhead, and the second, broken moon was nearly over the horizon. The variant lighting cast odd shadows across the land, his own waved both beneath and to his right. It cast up the dune, long legged and walks along side him.

The pressure Helena put on him slackens as the Facility came into view. Only a trained eye could pick out the organic mass protruding from the cliff wall that stretched across the northern desert. Todd had long forgotten what the humans called the massive barrier now; if they still referred to it by the name he had once been told.

Some shoved away emotion plucked at him as he carries the dead female through the fence. It was unfortunate she had to be returned to the place where she had once felt safe like this; wrapped in her old suit and robe destined to be picked and pulled apart in examination. Todd exhales sharply, forcing the pang of regret away. It was an emotion he could not afford to let toy with his judgment.

A mental push opens the door; it peels apart for him with a damp swish. The rush of cool air that spills forth out of the entryway nearly knocks the Wraith over. It was a fetid smell of death and animal presence.

The Wraith readjusts the filter over his nose and mouth. It only stifles the scent, but reduced the impact. Carefully he places Helena by the entrance, laying her flat to avoid sloshing her innards anymore than they already had.

Rolling his shoulders, Todd was glad to be free of the burden for now. The halls were dark, lit only by the facility's emergency lighting; it cast a pale blue glow in patches that would persist until the organic compound decayed.

The database will be at the center of the facility on the lower floors, protected by the earth. The Wraith stands slowly, ignoring the pop in his spine as he straightens. Once he returned a feeding and tending by his servant will sooth what complaints his body had.

His footfalls echo faintly. The walls of the facility had a natural sound dampener for the sake of the older occupants to lessen the severity of the newborns and those whose feeding slits were beginning to open. Darkness was oppressing, the blue light that struck him every seven strides did nothing to lessen the great black sucking mass around him.

Night vision showed the Commander that nothing lived in these halls. His mind could pick up nothing but cold emptiness. Still, he was on edge, anticipating something to materialize from the black and strike him down: such a foolish notion.

At the center of the compound he was still in one piece. No unmentionables had befallen him, and his ancient mind could come up with plenty of terrible lurking horrors waiting in the dark. Still, he pushed the dread away; the picking knowing of what was happening, of what had returned to threaten his race over a threat within a threat.

Ah, the first threat, lessening as time went on. What upset these new humans so? Sheppard had mentioned once that Todd reminded him of a shark, and the Wraith naturally took to the laptop the Earth humans provided him. Humans had so many protection programs for those creatures: great aquatic beasts that had the power to swallow a humanoid whole. He had laughed as the thought of a similar program cropping up for his species.

With a shake of his head, Todd, lets the elevator door close, enveloping him in black. He feels it stop and the door slid open into an orange tinted hallway. The remaining power had diverted to the lower level to protect the embryos and breeding records.

Blocking his way was the corpse of an Overseer. His face was stretched in the permanent expression of shock: eyes clouded by death but flung open wide, the mouth agape and tongue torn free. Todd squats to push the body aside when he notices a particular detail of the wound gaping across the Wraith's belly. The edges of the great tear lacked bruising.

Todd rolls the body over, curious if there was another reason this Wraith was dead. Brushing the pink tinted hair to one side after he sees there are no obvious signs of trauma along the back, he notices a single puncture wound. His lips pull into a deep frown as he leans down for a better view. The area around the hole was a near purple and spiders out to a black, while the hole itself was only a centimeter in diameter.

After a moment the Wraith stands once he pushed the corpse to one side. Never step over the body of one of your own, rival or not.

He would check the development chamber first, if there were any viable embryos they could be returned to his Hive and sent to another facility. He did not put his hope of saving any of the near Queens up very high. The attackers were thorough.

The door at the end of the hall parts for him and the Wraith steps inside. His breather could not remotely stifle the pungent smell of the facility's developing fluid. It was a scent he had experienced before, centuries upon centuries ago when a long dead Queen requested he join her to birth her first young.

Each tendril extending from the low ceiling held an embryo at various stages of metamorphosis: the fish like egglings, the near humanoid pupae, and finally the near infants soon to be released. The glow indicated life, radiating from the tendril in a muted gold, blue at the bases. Beautiful.

All but two were living.

The Wraith knew he needed to get them all safely transported. They needed to be scanned for infection and tampering. The task would be extremely difficult for the egglings and pupae. The nutrients flowing from the core could only be cut off from them for no more than an hour.

Inhaling deeply through his mouth, he leaves the near Queens to their privacy. The data bank would be concealed in a room to the right of the hall, close to the core. He had so much to retrieve before dawn.

"The Commander's transmitter has just activated," one of the many underlings announces from outside the second's door.

A half whine is uttered from the worshipper under him when he pulls away from her. Ignoring the human, he quickly dresses and leaves her. She would be in the same spot when he returned. Yes she would move around, poke through his belongings and trophies while he was away, but she would return to the spot and resume a seductive position. If she broke any of the items those embellished bone hoops lining her ears would serve as a reasonable replacement.

To be honest, the Wraith could hardly call up her name. She did her duty well and has remained in his graces the longest of all of the personal servants he had owned. Copper curls and milky white skin, blemished only by an identifying tattoo on the left side of her neck; attractive for a human. Those brilliant blue green eyes were worth keeping around until she fell out of favor.

The underling who summoned him dips his head in greeting when the senior Wraith walks onto the bridge. "He is still within the facility."

"Send a dart planet side with the orders to contact the Commander and relay his orders to us."

۞

That life, that spark of recognition in Helena's eyes still troubled Todd as he inserted the second slide to finish the transfer of data.

Todd frowns as he watches the screen in front of him. Birth records, death reports and experimental procedures on underdeveloped females to increase the birth rate. The second generation of females produced, all but two had successful pregnancies in their respective Hives. The third generations birthed on average twelve per litter.

Helena was listed under the fourth generation. The last of that brood to emerge, inspected and listed to have weak vision and disease susceptible; breeding not recommended. The Wraith doubted that fool of an Overseer had told her this fact. The immune deficiency could explain how she managed to survive a full transformation when exposed to the virus. Her body could not fight the mutations and did not attempt to heal itself once her organs began to swell.

The slide lifts from the console with a wet pop once the download finishes. Todd takes it and after wiping it off, inserts the glassy slide safely into one of the many hidden pockets in his suit.

"Commander, your orders?"

The Wraith glances up from the screen, knowing the mental signature as the seventh shift navigator. "Go south to the gate and retrieve the humans there, return to the Hive and inform the second that a transport ship is required to remove unborn younglings."

"Understood."


	9. Chapter 9

"I miss Helena," Jennifer says quietly.

She and the rest of their small sun burnt and thirsty group sat at the crest of the valley. The stargate was just barely visible; a tiny hint of it peeked out like a bridge. It was mocking in a way. Home was just in front of them all, buried under seventeen feet of pea sand. Digging in that would prove futile as it held little to no moisture, opposed to the rich, cool, water retaining flour sand.

"Why? She is…was, just a Wraith," Rodney replies from his spot beside Myrna. The hybrid had not said a word this entire time. She had sat down between Jennifer and Rodney, drew her legs to her chest and stared at the horizon.

For the first time since Helena's death, Myrna looks up sharply. Her pupils constrict to wires as she glares at the man. "And you're just a human. What makes your species so special?"

"Well, we…"

"Well what?" she snaps.

"Drop it. Both of you," Sheppard barks.

"Well if Jennifer didn't practically throw herself at Todd, it…"

"Rodney, I said drop it!"

"You didn't see how she looked at him."

Before Sheppard could say anything further along the lines of Todd being better than Rodney (as much as he didn't want to admit), Jennifer stands unexpectedly. She moves past Myrna and slaps the man so hard Sheppard winces in sympathy. He deserved that, Sheppard thinks with a frown.

A stunned silence washes over the group as Jennifer glares down at the man in front of her. Her eyes were glassy and threatened the release of tears at any moment. Her mouth opens, and then closes, thinking better of herself to not say what she really wanted to. At last, Jennifer finally says quietly: "When we get home, I'm moving my things out and back into my room."

"Jen, I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, Rodney, you did."

Myrna pushes her bare feet into the sand, politely pretending not to listen to the angry couple. She wiggles her toes and enjoys the grating of the granules against the sensitive skin. Fingers soon join the toes, sliding under the red and over the top of her feet. Myrna interlocks her fingers between her toes and hums the only song that came to her mind: Bungle in the Jungle, the last song she had heard before the iPod's battery ran out.

"Jennifer."

Turning away from Rodney, Jennifer sits between Myrna and Sheppard. Her head was down with the sweat damp bangs create a curtain in front of her vision. Jennifer didn't want to see anything anyway. The more she thinks about it as this failed mission went on, the more she regrets sleeping with Rodney. She had been so certain she loved him for all his flaws.

It wouldn't do her any good to cry about it. It was a stupid decision, and Jennifer has dealt with plenty of them before. David, she thinks, choking back a bitter laugh. After the pregnancy scare in her sophomore year of college, he certainly showed his true color.

"What would you do, John Shepp-ard," the hybrid begins to ask, intentionally using the same emphasis as Todd on the human's surname, "if one of your team members betrayed you?"

"Why do you ask, Myrna? Do you plan on trying to take on all of us?"

"No," she looks past Jennifer, who had lifted her head to watch Myrna, to John. "I just wanted to know what your people do in such cases."

"Well, if someone did," he says and pauses: Why the fuck would she ask that? John's brows lift in realization and he masks it with a look of pondering. "I'd do my best to knock'em out and bring them back to Atlantis. Woolsey will probably find out a good punishment."

Myrna's large irises looked like black pits in the dim lighting as she watches him for a moment. Without saying anything further, she goes back to playing with her toes.

"So you don't kill them?" the hybrid asks after a short moment, flexing her toes and letting them poke out of the sand.

"Not unless they give a damned good reason to."

"Even non-humans?"

"Todd's still alive, isn't he?"

Myrna looks at him and tilts her head, "He has betrayed you?"

"Well nearly killing half of our people isn't exactly what friends do."

"Have you ever had sex with a non-human?"

"Jesus Myrna, you're worse than Todd with the random really fucking personal questions."

Jennifer snickers, biting her lip to stifle the sound.

"Hey, he asked you about what was so great about anal."

Blushing, Jennifer hisses: "Colonel!"

"What? You answered him."

"Well he's an alien; they probably don't have sex the way we do."

"You never asked him?"

"Oh goodness no. I know what it all looks like and how it works…just not how it's done."

"And you answered his questions about all our weird fetishes."

"Colonel, I…"

Dematerialization is an odd feeling; it's fuzzy, like touching one of those lightning orbs at the museum. Dreamlike, and just as fleeting; Jennifer suddenly found herself sitting beside Sheppard and Myrna in the dart bay of a hive ship.

Three guards stood at the large doors, stunners casually carried. Their faceless heads only moved to regard the Wraith who enters.

"Oh hey Kenny," Sheppard says with a falsely friendly smile.

The long faced Wraith walks past the guards as they part for him, their heads lowered courteously. Looking past Sheppard, ignoring the human's greeting and down to Myrna with a frown he says: "Put her in a holding cell. You three will accompany me to a waiting area. The Commander wishes to speak with you upon his return."

"Nice to see you again too," Sheppard mutters and reluctantly stands.

They didn't have much of a choice either way. Jennifer makes a point not to watch as one of the guards stun Myrna and begin to drag her away. If they refused, it'd be a holding cell until Todd came along. Even then, there was no guarantee that he'd let them go. A waiting area sounded pleasant for a hive ship.

Kenny inclines his head, never needing to actually tell them to hurry up. It was a subtle gesture accompanied by an expression of annoyance as the humans begin to stand and straighten their clothing. Once Sheppard approaches, the Wraith turns and leads them down the dimly lit corridor.

Each hive they had been on, friendly or not, had different lighting. Sheppard idly wondered if it was the hive itself that chose the light, or whoever was in charge of home décor. Todd's Hive leaned towards the blues and greens with a warm yellow and orange in the room they had proposed Jennifer's inoculation. He quickly diverts his thoughts, wondering why the hell he was contemplating the lighting of a hive ship.

Their sour Wraith guide stops in front of a door. Once it slides open, he steps to one side to allow the humans entry. "The Commander should arrive within the hour."

The waiting room was similar to the one they had visited before. A table, possibly the same was positioned in the center of the room. However, plush almost Victorian-esque chairs were nesting under it rather than the hardwood missionary ones. "Nice upgrade. Will we be getting filet mignon and a bottle of chardonnay to go with the fancy chairs?" Sheppard asks the Wraith who had paused in mid turn.

"I will have food brought if you require it."

"I think we all would love something that hasn't been dried and formed into a brick."

Kenny nods and leaves them to their privacy when the door closes wetly behind him.

Jennifer pulls a chair out for herself and sits down graciously on the cushioned seat. She leans back and stares at the screen on the wall opposite her. The Wraith text scrolls lazily across the surface. "Why do you think they took Myrna?" she asks once she was pretty sure Kenny had not lingered by the door.

"She's a hybrid, they probably want to study her," Sheppard replies with a shrug and takes a chair for himself.

"But stun her?"

"If I could read their minds I'd tell ya."

With a nod, Jennifer lapses into silence. Despite this not being Atlantis, she feels secure here. The room was a comfortable temperature and she let herself relax. Once Todd arrives everything will sort itself out, she assures herself. A blush creeps to Jennifer's cheeks as the thought reminds her of how feral and handsome the Wraith had looked.

The second stands at the entrance to the cargo bay, his hands held behind his back, clasping one another. Silently he watches as the Commander gives orders to the Drones unloading the delicate cases.

Each case was wrapped in several layers of the organic material the facility provided, to insure the embryos received a continuous supply of nutrients until they could be safely tucked away in the Hive. While this hive in particular had no Queen to actively provide sustenance to them, the residual leftovers of the Primary would provide enough until they reached T9X-4769.

The facility there has remained neutral through the civil war, despite bribes and empty threats. No Wraith would dare attack a breeding facility.

Whoever caused all of this was no Wraith, the second muses as two Drones pass him with the last container.

"No it was not," the Commander replies, having heard the rather open thought. "Where is the hybrid?"

"She is contained in one of the holding cells on the fifth level."

The Commander nods. The older Wraith was filthy; covered in a layer of red dust that gave his hair a rusty matte appearance. His face is streaked with sweat where he had wiped his face upon entering the hive. "Order the Drones assigned to her to keep her drugged until I am ready to have her transported to our research facility."

"She does not seem to be a threat, Commander."

"That is an order, unless you wish the fate of that facility on my Hive."

She…

The second needs no further conformation as his Commander frowns. The Wraith lowers his head to his superior, the gesture of asking for forgiveness due to the questioning a direct order. "Understood."

With an incline of his head, the older Wraith leaves him to carry out his task. While he would rather look over the task to insure the hybrid was fully incapacitated, the Wraith sorely needed to wash.

Upon returning to the Hive, the familiar scents made his own rather unpleasant.

In passing by the common area on the second level, the Commander issues the order to "Escort the humans to the public baths while they wait. Do not allow them more than twenty minutes." The Wraith, barely considered an adult, bows deeply, overly so. He did poorly in masking the pride of receiving a direct order from the Commander.

The young Wraith immediately redirects his route to the third waiting room once the Commander vanishes around the corner. He carries himself straight and tall as he passes Drones and various Wraith of every caste. While he could not openly express his joy of such a command at his position, it did carry him to the room swiftly and lightly.

When the door opens for him and the guards step aside, the humans look at him; two males and a female. The thickest of the three still had food on his plate while the other two had long pushed theirs away.

"Hi, so are you the entertainment to go along with our dinner?" The dark haired human asks with dripping sarcasm.

At a loss for words for a moment, though the Wraith could conjure up a few insults, he frowns. "The Commander has ordered me to escort his guests to the baths," the Wraith says at last.

"Sounds great. I didn't see you as the comedian type."

"That's every Wraith," the other male mutters through a mouthful of xivix steak.

"Forgive me if our humor is not of your liking," the Wraith replies coolly as he turns to lead them out of the room.

The baths were on the sixth level of the Hive. The lower caste and new recruits were housed on this level, where they did not enjoy the luxury of a private bathing facility as did the upper caste. It was their job to earn the right or make do with what they had. Those in the position not to climb the rank ladder enjoyed the chance to socialize and exchange news from various quadrants of the ship.

Jennifer's heart flutters with embarrassment as she steps through the large doorway and into the humid room. She alone is the sole female here and notices more than one glance in her direction from the occupants.

"Um," Jennifer looks up to their escort. "Is there a private bath? I mean, I don't want to be demanding, but…" she pauses and looks around the large room. "I really don't feel comfortable you know, taking my clothes off in front of others."

The Wraith gives an exasperated sigh; he had thought this task would be simple; just take them to the bath and fetch them when the time is up. Quickly, he searches through the web for the Commander's signature. Upon finding it, he requests the older Wraith's permission to open a conversation.

Slight annoyance from the Commander replies, but he allows the young one to speak.

Commander, the female requests a private room.

You called me for this?

Forgive me, but she does not wish to bathe with the males.

Send her to my quarters.

Yes, Commander.

"Follow me," the Wraith says to Jennifer once the connection closes. He didn't fully understand why the Commander would allow her access to his private quarters, but an order was an order.

He glances down at the soft featured female following him. If it were not for her flat brows and cheekbones, she had the potential to be attractive. The woman looks at him when she notices him watching her. Her cheeks darken with blood and the Wraith wonders for a moment if she was overheating. Unlike his elders, he had yet to study human reactions to stimuli.

"So," she says awkwardly, "what do you do here?"

The Wraith tilts his head, "I am tasked with repairing the navigation system's planet data bank." He found it odd being asked this, but he was used to the constant link to every member of the ship. The Wraith knew each member's task, the facility they were birthed. Private matters were taboo to probe into without permission (which was rarely given).

"Where are we going, if you don't mind me asking?"

Rolling his eyes upward with a sharp grumbling exhale, the Wraith says: "The Commander is allowing you access to his bath." He was growing frustrated with pointless questions. It was not unlike being with a youngling.

Never in his short life had he ever been so happy to stand in front of an upper caste's door. The Wraith sends a short burst to alert the Commander of his presence. The reply comes shortly and the door slides open for him.

Remaining outside the door, the Wraith extends his left arm in a gesture to indicate the human should enter. When Jennifer looks at him, hesitating, the Wraith groans without restraint. His patience leaving him, the Wraith places his palm against the woman's back and pushes her through the door. Once she is past the entryway, the door closes, releasing him from his burden.

"Ah, Doctor Keller, I take it the public baths were not to your liking?"

Jennifer jumps, not expecting Todd to be standing so close to her. The Wraith's hair was damp, already clean, and now dressed in the leather armor she was so used to seeing him in. "I'm, I'm not used to getting undressed in front of so many…people."

With a nod, Todd turns his back to her and picks up a tablet. "Go through there," he nods his head as he runs a finger over the screen to activate the ship's status. "The water will begin to fill once you step into the pool."

Jennifer bites her lower lip and slips past the Wraith to the doorway he indicated. "Thanks," she says before entering the room.

The room didn't have a door. The archway didn't fold shut behind her and she rubs her hands over her upper arms. Jennifer trusts Todd not to be as invasive as Rodney, who would check on her when she took a bath. It was sweet that he would ask her if she needed anything, or wanted him to bring his docking station for her iPod, but Jennifer enjoyed her privacy. This would be the best she could get on a hive ship it seems.

Continuously glancing at the door, she steps out of her pants and pulls her shirt over her head quickly. The entryway remains empty as she wiggles out of her panties and unhooks her bra.

Occasionally the sound of a click or the creak of leather came from the bedroom, but Todd remains out of sight. Jennifer wrinkles her nose when she catches the sour smell coming from under her arms. The bath would be very welcoming despite it belonging to a rather intimidating alien leader.

As Todd had told her, the water begins seeping into the organic bottom of the pool. She sits down and enjoys the warm water as it creeps up her hips to her ribs and finally stopping just above her collar bone. Shutting her eyes, she submerges her head and rubs her hands through her hair to shake out the bulk of the red dust.

When she lifts her head out of the water, she smoothes her hair away from her face then nearly chokes on a mouth and nose full of water as Todd appears in the archway. The Wraith tilts his head as she coughs and sputters before saying: "Your companions have dressed and returned to the waiting room."

"Oh," Jennifer folds her arms over her chest to cover herself, "I'll hurry up."

"Take your time. It will be six hours until we are within communications range of Atlantis."

"Todd?" Jennifer asks when the Wraith turns to leave her to finish. He looks at her with his brows raised. "Do you have anything like soap or shampoo?"

Todd tilts his head and mulls over the words. He knew what soap was but the other item she required took a moment to find the meaning. The Wraith had heard the word before but had not paid much attention to it. Two females from the medical staff's midnight shift were discussing what brand of shampoo they used while he was confined to a room on Earth. Aveda and Biolage meant little to him so he had chosen to ignore it.

The oils the previous Commander had used should be a reasonable substitute for her. He found little need for them himself, so he had tucked them away in a nook along the back wall.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Jennifer shift to better cover herself as he walks past the bath to the back wall. Three glass vials line the corner of the small indentation in the wall. Each neck of the vial fits easily between the fingers of his left hand.

Jennifer draws her legs up as he approaches with three green narrow necked bottles in his left hand. "Use as much as you require, I have no need for these."

She almost did not want to reach out to take the bottles. Doing so would mean the Wraith might catch a glimpse of something she didn't want him to see. Jennifer felt foolish thinking this, knowing that if Todd was over ten thousand years old, breasts wouldn't deter him in the slightest. Still, she hesitates before reaching out to his outstretched hand.

"I want to thank you again," Jennifer says with beneath a blush and a shy smile. "You could have said no."

"I could have, but I did not," the Wraith states. He dips his head slightly before leaving the room.

Unable to stop herself from watching him leave, Jennifer sucks on her lower lip and turns around to look at the bottles. She shakes one of the bottles and watches the liquid slosh about.

Setting them on the edge of the bath, she takes one of them and uncorks it. Cautiously she sniffs it, finding the smell akin to curry powder. Jennifer wrinkles her nose and sticks out her tongue as she closes it and pushes it away from the others.

The second smells metallic and the third vaguely like beeswax. Being the lesser of all the evils, she picks the third bottle and pours some of the thick oil onto her open palm. Rubbing her hands together, she spreads it over her hair, down her neck and begins scrubbing herself as best as she could without a washcloth. It was like rubbing maple syrup over skin.

Submerging once more, she rinses off the oil and stands up. Jennifer wipes her face and sighs contently. It felt so wonderful to be clean again, and she was reluctant to put on the sweaty, dirty clothes that had been discarded earlier.

The room was rather stark, small and dimly lit in an orange glow which emitted from the bath's basin. The ceiling had small blue nodules that gave off very faint light. In one corner on a raised growth from the floor is a stack of haphazardly folded towels. Jennifer suppresses a giggle at the thought that a man's inability to properly fold towels was not isolated to humans. Todd's job was better than Rodney's, which was odd, since Rodney meticulously folded his underwear and sorted them by color and brand.

Climbing out of the bath, she takes the towel from the top of the stack and wraps it around herself. The fabric was soft, like a silk blanket. Jennifer runs her hands down her sides and over her hips, loving the smooth, cool glide of cloth against her palms.

The thought about what she should do with her clothes picked at her as she walks to the entryway. Jennifer tightens the towel around her chest and steps into the bedroom.

Todd's bed was against the far wall. The frame appeared to be growing out of the floor and sunk downward and filled by whatever the Wraith used for a mattress. Maybe that grew from the hive too, Jennifer wonders. It was covered in various blankets. Jennifer recognizes one of the quilt patterns from a village she had visited with Carson to give out booster shots to the local children.

The Wraith was seated on a cushioned bench, his fingers pressed together held loosely in his lap. Jennifer leans down to see if the Wraith was awake; his eyes were closed.

The video feeds of their first captive, Steve, had shown that particular Wraith doing something similar. She steps closer to the Wraith and gingerly touches his leather padded shoulder.

"Doctor Keller?" the Wraith rumbles, lifting his head and straightening.

"Should I just put my clothes on and go back to the room?"

"If you like," Todd replies, standing.

Jennifer is nearly knocked back as the Wraith stands. She had not realized how close she was to him. She looks up, the crown of her head just reaching under his arms. Jennifer thinks of how much she probably will regret this, then takes that white goatee just above her head in her hand and pulls the Wraith down to her level.

It almost seems too easy, how she manages to pull that brick wall of a Wraith with one arm. Perhaps Todd knew this would happen and was more than welcome to oblige, or he was simply just surprised. Whatever he had thought, Jennifer was sure he wasn't opposed when she begins to kiss him. The Wraith reciprocates her action, bending to accommodate the height difference.

Jennifer feels his teeth grazing her bottom lip and the tip of her tongue. They were slick, coated in thick saliva. Unsure of what to do with her hands, Jennifer leaves the one hooked around his goatee while the other hangs limply at her side.

It feels surreal, and a flicker of doubt passes through her mind. This would destroy what she had with Rodney, but what she had was not what she really wanted. They were both successful and well educated of course, but she wanted someone she felt could protect her. Ronon was a previous choice, although his stubbornness had pushed her away. Since the mission, her regret grew and the frustration broadcasts outward, allowing the Wraith to pick up on the strong emotion.

Todd is the first to pull away, his pungent breath rolls over her nose and mouth as he straightens. The Wraith lifts his brows as the human presses her forehead against his chest and releases a powerful stress pheromone.

Stupid, I'm so stupid, Jennifer says to herself, feeling Todd's steady heartbeat against her temple.

"Sorry," she mutters after a moment. The Wraith had not moved while she torments herself with all the horrible outcomes of what she just did. At least he killing her was marked off the list, as Todd gave no indication of doing so.

A deep rumbling "hmm?" was her answer. Jennifer felt the vibration of the sound through the leather. It reminds her of the family dog, Buns, growling and grumbling while she pressed her ear to its belly. Not that she thought of Todd like a dog, oh no, but the sound was comforting in a way.

I didn't mean to kiss you? It was an accident? I'm an idiot? Maybe it's was the sunlight and it's fried my brain? "I was just…" Jennifer sighs and lifts her head to look at the inquisitive alien. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You certainly seemed determined despite not knowing what you were thinking," Todd says with a discordant chuckle.

Cheeks flushed with red, Jennifer focuses on the tablet lying on the bench behind Todd. "I was frustrated."

"Really now?"

"You saw how Rodney was acting. It," her shoulders droop as she lifts her gaze back to meet his. "It escalated after you left."

"Ah-h, so you seek solace to spurn him, Doctor…"

"Jennifer. And no, I don't want to hurt him. I'd rather take the brunt of it than stoop down to his level." Covering her eyes for a moment, Jennifer places the hand on his chest, just below the sternum. It amazed her still, how strong a Wraith's sternum was. Nearly five times that of a human's. "But…" No, I can't do that.

She didn't want to give in or even admit that she had such thoughts about even considering doing such a thing. That leather covered wall she had her hand against shifts and a clawed finger trails along her jaw so lightly it tickles.

"I want to," she says.


	10. Chapter 10

The wiry body of the Wraith forces Jennifer to step backwards, not once did he touch her. The sheer presence moves her back until her legs bump against the bed. Fur tickles her bare skin and his hands finally graze her shoulders.

Downwards the hands go, freeing the towel from the body it hid. The silken fabric slithers down the woman's curves, settling on the floor in a fluid heap. "Todd," Jennifer says, beginning to doubt her decision. _Can I really do this to Rodney_? she asks herself.

Todd's hands pause to rest on her hips at the utterance of his human label. His fingers press against the warm skin, claw tips sinking in to indent the flesh but not cause it to tear. "What is it?" he asks, the dual tones rolling to end in a baritone purr.

"Just," Jennifer hesitates. _This will destroy Rodney…if he finds out. _"Nothing," she says at last, tentatively lifting her hand to place it on his leather clad chest.

A rumbling in his throat seems to be the only reply or acknowledgement she would receive at the moment. Jennifer closes her eyes as his mouth moves over her neck, the Wraith's tongue sliding wetly down the lightly tanned column. It caused her stomach to churn in a way no one had been able to do. Was this what butterflies feel like, she wonders as an unexpected moan escapes her.

The hands leave her hips, moving upwards to unfasten his coat. As the Wraith nips at the tender skin just under Jennifer's jaw, he shrugs the heavy leather garment to the floor. It lands with an audible thump.

Straightening, through teasing her for now, Todd scrutinizes his potential bed partner. The woman, like many human females, bore wide hips and heavy breasts where the Queens he has served had not. The fur that was supposed to conceal her genitals was cropped short over the pubic mound and from what he could tell, removed from the lips completely. A shame really, as it did so enhance the heady arousal pheromone human females gave off.

The soft shape of her was certainly appealing. Jennifer's cheeks were tinged with red, her open emotions easily readable: arousal and embarrassment. Unsure of the cause of the latter, the Wraith tilts his head.

To his surprise, the woman takes the bottom of his black tunic, lifting it. Todd bows forward to allow her to pull it from him without stretching upwards. Jennifer's hands roam his torso as if she had never laid eyes on it before. The examination she had performed several months ago had been awkward; behind the mask of professionalism was a nervousness he could not place with fear.

Blunt fingertips play over a fresh scar gained from an audience with a rival faction's Queen. Her knife had moved quickly, his however did far greater damage. The loss of several jeweled fingers would be remembered.

Jennifer's exploration stops just above the waistline of his trousers, hesitant of the inevitable. With a deep chortle, Todd steps out of his boots, his narrow feet slipping through the neck easily. Where she was shy, he most unquestionably was not. Unlacing the fastening of the leather breeches for her, Todd lets them fall to the floor, kicking them with one leg off to the side.

Jennifer bites her lower lip as the complete reality of what will happen crashes down upon her. This was going to happen, she of all people, was willingly going to have sex with a Wraith. Not a Wraith they would probably never see again, but Todd, Todd who enjoyed visits to Atlantis and Earth (despite the fact that she knew he hated San Francisco).

The clawed fingers of his left hand, the hand free of the serrated tipped ring of the right, brush over the loose, short curls over her mound. _I'm going to hate myself_. Jennifer gasps as the chipped claws slip between her lips, finding the hot warmth of her very unmistakable arousal.

That she did not have a vestigial ovipositor did not seem to deter him in the slightest and Jennifer idly wonders how many human females he has done this very same thing to. His thumb brushes over her clit, drawing her to press her hips closer to that hand. In doing so, the Wraith slips his index finger into the tight depths while the hand Jennifer found so dangerous glides up her back. The metal was cool and sharp as it moves so close to her spine.

The middle finger soon joins the first once the Wraith feels she has grown accustomed to the intrusion. Content with watching her; lips slightly parted, eyes half lidded, panting as her hips try to bring his fingers far further than the webbing between them could allow.

If he brought the woman to climax before coupling the act would take far too long for his liking. Withdrawing the fingers, slick, the fluid threading between them as he takes her hips to guide her back onto the bed, and with lust clouding her judgment, Jennifer did not complain.

Rodney has never put in this much effort to please her, asking nothing in return. Jennifer lies back, enjoying the warm fur that gives way under her back as she moves to the center of the bed. Claws trail up her legs while the Wraith joins her on the bed.

Unconsciously, Jennifer parts her legs. It seemed the right thing to do and that wonderful tongue that tortured her neck earlier brushes only once over her slit, hot and electric, before her vision is obscured by his neck and chest.

Not once has he kissed her, though it didn't matter at the moment as he worries every sensitive spot on her neck. Jennifer runs her hands over his shoulders, finger tips brush over the raised spinal ridges, smooth and solid. _I should stop this_, the little rational part of her mind warns her.

The thought was quashed as quickly as it came to her. The Wraith ensnares her mouth, sharp teeth rake over her lips, and click against her blunt, recently whitened ones. Jennifer's tongue dares to slip past those dangerous points, greeting the Wraith's. The gray blue tongue with it's pink tinge slithers along her's, his breath comes in deep, warm blasts over her cheek until Todd pulls free of the kiss, nipping lightly at her upper lip as he does so.

Her stomach felt as if it was coiling in on itself. Arousal and lust were not an expression she had ever considered seeing a Wraith convey. His nostrils were flared wide, not from exhaustion but from taking every scent in. Jennifer recognizes the pits on either side of the Wraith's face were heat sensors, but she wonders if they were able to taste the air in the same manner as snakes.

Reaching up, Jennifer draws her fingers over Todd's sharp cheekbones. The heavy, tapering evidence of his arousal presses against her, sliding upwards in such a way that it brushes her clit, sending a shiver that tightens the coil in her belly.

The bed sinks on her left as Todd shifts his weight to that arm, reaching back to better guide himself in. Unlike with Rodney, the length slips inside with little resistance as the pointed tip widens, filling her until he can go no further. Jennifer's leg curls against his, further parting her legs, relaxing her muscles.

Without pause, Todd pulls back, angling his hip to thrust in an upward motion. Jennifer's other leg curls around to join the other, pulling herself closer with each fluid thrust. Sharp teeth obscure her vision as hot breath rolls over her face. His kiss was sweet with a scraping hint of those dark points.

Claws rake down her side with little regard of breaking the skin under them. She arcs, ribs touching his chest. Her own nails, pitifully blunt and soft scratch harmlessly down his shoulders, over old scars and tattoos.

The claws felt close to drawing blood, painful and biting. Todd reaches back and pushes her legs by the knees nearly to her shoulders. The Wraith's beard brushes over her nose and temples allowing her full view of his long neck. Tentative fingers reach out and touch the neck as if an offering, playing over the smooth, wet, hot skin.

Something odd, slithering and very alien joins the now shallow thrusts. Jennifer squirms, pressing upwards to capture it, bring it deeper, closer to that one spot. Todd angles his hips once more, back bowing and shoulder blades shifting under her hands. There. Again and against; she cries out in utter rapture.

His tongue slides over her throat. The proximity fills her nostrils with the heavy scent of wet dirt and dead leaves. Jennifer's hands tangle in his haphazardly matted hair. Gasping, she whispers the only name she knows him by as the pressure releases in blissful throbs, tightening around him, around that strange bit.

Jennifer knew the way a Wraith's genitals worked. The head would widen and out would slither a pointed, tongue like appendage (of which they had not decided a term for). A Wraith female's cervix was more giving than a human's, and Jennifer, with Carson had suspected that was how multiple children were insured. That thing would slip up inside the cervix and the sperm releases directly into the female's spermathoca. Lacking the sperm storing organ, Jennifer was spared what she thought would be a terrible experience.

Feeling more than hearing Todd's growl, his hips buck, slamming against her with an audible whack. The Wraith ignores the cry of pain and surprise from his partner as the first ejaculation shudders through him.

After a span of three minutes, Jennifer feels Todd slide free from her. She meets his eyes, pupils dilated, engulfing the green gold irises. Unable to find anything to say, as 'thank you' sounded like a stupid thing to say to him after the strangest but most enjoyable sex she ever had. Settling for a smile, she leans up and kisses him, long since used to the foulness of his breath.

Unless Rodney burst through the door at this moment, as Todd pulls an obviously pilfered quilt over them both, he would never know. Everything could be normal when they were brought back to Atlantis. At least Jennifer hopes that this would be the case.


	11. Chapter 11

"Release me you sniveling insect!" Myrna hisses, once more slamming her slender frame against the webbed door. The robe had long been torn to shreds in frustration, and the Second watches her impassively.

The insults she threw at him and the various technicians who passed began to repeat within two hours. Thankfully the hybrid's mouth ran dry after the first hour to save them from getting spat at.

Now she paces. Narrow little shoulders roll forward in a hunch, back and forth she goes muttering both outwardly and inward to herself. The Wraith dares to step towards the holding cell as she turns to and fro, "I will ask again, _woman_, who sent you?"

Whirling, she reaches through the web, claws outstretched as the flesh of her hand darkens to a glorious midnight. The hand is ensnared, an iron grip on her wrist, twisting it upwards as the owner whimpers. "You've been provided food and reprieve from the sun. If you do not answer me you will be," the Second pauses and his claws sink into the smooth near black skin, "destined to the air lock, _Myrna_," purring out her name.

A jerk brings the hybrid against the door, her breasts squeezed against the tough organic frame. For the first time since the hybrid had been put in the cell, the Wraith saw a glimmer of fright in her blood speckled eyes. With that comes the feeling of arousal, nostrils flare to take in the heady scent of her fear, bathing in it, enjoying the sight of the female struggling to pull free.

"I will tell you," Myrna says at last, her breath coming in sharp gasps, "if you allow me to go free."

"I'm afraid that is not going to happen. You may tell me all you wish, but, little half blood, you will not be allowed to leave this hive."

Fear becomes surprise and surprise, rage. Plump, human lips curl in anger, revealing Wraith teeth, "Well," Myrna whispers, "I guess you'll never know, will you?" The snarl twists into a smile as she giggles like a child.

_Disgusting beast_, the Second thinks quite clearly so the young prison keeper looks at him questioningly. The Wraith nods to the young one, "Deny her water until she is willing to speak." _Report any changes in her behavior to me_.

"Yes Sub-Commander," the Wraith with the tattooed claw marks over his left eye answers with a respectful bow.

…

Jennifer pulls the quilt over her nose as she stares at the bioluminescent ceiling. Her legs were sore, and her side stung from the clotting tracks of scratches that ran downward, trailing partially to mid thigh. Circular bruises dot her legs; the bulk of which were scattered over her hips and several on the outside of the knees.

_The claws felt close to puncturing her flesh as he pushed her legs by the knees nearly to her shoulders. The Wraith's beard brushed over her nose and temples allowing her full view of his long neck. Tentative fingers reach out and touch the neck as if an offering, playing over the smooth, wet, hot skin._

A heavy arm falls across Jennifer's chest, nearly knocking the wind from her lungs. Instinctively, the Wraith pulls the human towards him as he slept, drawn to the warmth. Jennifer had only managed just over thirty minutes of restless sleep before being startled by the rustling of a worshipper.

The black haired worshipper who woke her had not stayed long. She entered the room and left with Jennifer's clothing after organizing a few stray items around the room. The tablet was put on the table near the large circular window and Todd's clothing had been folded neatly and set on the bench.

She feels sleepy but could not bring herself to succumb to it once more. Each moment her eyes fall heavy a sound, a rustle from Todd or the murmur of worshippers passing the door bring her back to full awareness. The hive itself possesses a constant murmur, a prickling at the back of her mind in a language far too soft and alien to understand.

Jennifer was stuck here, without clothes. _Such an idiot…but the sex was great_. She shakes her head to clear that treacherous thought. Of course the sex was great; Todd had over ten thousand years of practice and a little extra that stirs the heat in her belly when she thinks about it.

It was then Jennifer realizes that she was just another lay for him. Not that it really matters; a Wraith and human would never work out. Not in her mind, at least. It would be fun while it lasts. Though, she thinks morosely, no human will ever come close to that; so feral, both brutal and gentle with her.

_I want to_. That had been all it took and Todd was more than happy to oblige. Jennifer rolls onto her side and the arm tightens as her head rests just under his chin, cushioned by his shoulder. Without the leather, the Wraith had a pleasant scent she could not identify. It was an alien smell, very earthy, and old. The strong odor of decaying leaves faded when his body had cooled. She closes her eyes and buries her face into the crook of that long neck.

The heartbeat against her ear was slow, a span of four seconds between each beat. _When they hibernate, it slows to one beat per five hours. The hives supposedly provides whatever it is to keep them alive. _Johanson said, and had tried his best to explain what he knew of the Wraith's life cycles when she had first arrived to replace Carson. Still, there was only so much their biology could tell.

Jennifer carefully reaches up, squeezing her arm between their bodies and splays her fingers over his chest. Her fingertips brush his collar bone, playing over the cooled skin. Although she had never personally felt one, Jennifer thought this must be what a dolphin's hide felt like out of the water. It was smooth, not unlike her own flesh, but had a hint of resilience that she could feel when her fingers press into the skin.

A rumble deep in his throat and a muscle spasm in his thigh cause Jennifer to pause, tense with worry. Todd shifts, nearly rolling atop her. With his arm around her, she just manages to scoot far enough to avoid being pinned.

Jennifer smiles to herself, watching him sleep at her new safe distance; such a frightening alien species lying beside her, snoring like a not yet warm diesel engine. Of course his features were intimidating even in sleep, but the relaxed muscles soften his features just enough to let her see what he may have looked like centuries ago. The war had aged him quiet a bit since she had seen him two years before; more gaunt and a few extra lines between his heavy brows.

A wicked thought crosses her mind, _I shouldn't_, and she wriggles out from the encircling arm. Sucking her bottom lip, Jennifer pushes the Wraith's shoulder with a grunt of effort and a flash of teeth as she strains. He rolls onto his back, an arm over his face. Unfortunately the snoring grew worse in this position, not that he would remain asleep for much longer with what she had in mind.

_What happens in this room will remain_. Jennifer trusts the Wraith since the species did not seem to be the type to kiss and tell, not with the long practice of high respect for females. What she plans on doing would remain their little secret. _I haven't even done this to Rodney_, she thinks with a mischievous smile that curls her lips.

While normally she would never considering doing such a thing with anyone, Jennifer felt free here. It was so alien and Todd has been most tolerant of the human.

Leaning down, she carefully pulls the inky black fur blanket down exposing inch by inch of his tattooed torso. Todd is narrow of the waist with a broad chest and shoulders; he lacks the musculature of Ronon. Not that he needed it, the Wraith had the body of a runner; long legs with thick calves and ankles built to sustain brutal landings. His toes were long with sharp, raised scarab carapace claws.

Jennifer keeps his feet covered to avoid any accidental contact with those claws.

Glancing up to ensure Todd has not awakened (though she would not be able to tell with his arm over his eyes), Jennifer carefully walks her fingers along the hairless span between his navel and the base of his member. She brushes her tongue over the ridges that run downwards, two inches from the base. Hardly registering the intake of breath above her, Jennifer takes the pointed tip into her mouth and presses it against the roof of her mouth with her tongue.

Wet and slimy Jennifer nearly gags as the tongue like extension slithers towards the back of her throat. Unlike a human, the head was not at all very sensitive. However, the side ridges, node like along either side of the shaft were overly so when aroused. It wasn't long before she elicits the proper response with the combined fluid strokes of her hand and mouth. _Like almonds, metal and honey_. Pulling away, she slides up his torso. The chilled skin tickles her breasts as they graze his chest. "I couldn't sleep."

"Clearly," Todd murmurs, his voice thick and sleep slurred. The nictitating membranes had not fully retreated over his eyes, causing the Wraith to look far more alien than Jennifer wants him to.

With the residual stiff evidence of his arousal pressing against her stomach, Jennifer kisses him, ignoring the sudden sinking in her stomach at the vast difference between them, the differences that reminds her that any second he could turn on her, kill her and be done with it. "What does, well, we don't exactly have an official term for it yet," she rests her chin on her arms after she crosses them over his chest. "That um, extra bit, what is it for?"

"Once exposed," Todd tilts his chin towards his chest to look at her, "as I'm sure you've noticed." The Wraith pauses as Jennifer's lips split into a coy smile: "It enters fully through the cervix to ensure the sperm reaches the female's," he searches for a word the human would understand, "her holding chamber until she is ready to fertilize the eggs she passes. It lessens the risk of wasting the cells as you humans do when mating."

"So it's kinda like how wasps and bees work huh?" Jennifer murmurs.

"In that sense, yes. I am grateful that I will not suffer the same fate as the honey bee drones when I mate."

"Oh the wonders and horrors of Google," Jennifer's giggle dies when she feels his hands rest on her hips, the fingers splayed over her buttocks. "So, will handing those embryos over barter a Queen for you?"

"It may."

"If anyone can get more for less, it's you. Maybe you'll get two for the price of one?"

"I'd rather not have them kill each other before the mating cycle."

…

John rubs a hand over his damp hair, ruffling it. "What the hell is taking Jennifer so long?"

"She might be helping them with Myrna or something," Rodney says past a mouthful of fruit.

Once they had finished bathing, their escort brought them back to the waiting room. It had been restocked with two bowls of fruit with a small plate for the pits, cores and stems. A slender pitcher of water sat at the end of the table, encircled by short glasses. A nice gesture, but John found it a bit creepy. It wasn't like the Wraith shopped at Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. _Someone died for those_.

"Or she was fed on."

"I doubt that, Ronon. Todd probably put her to work on something to get some information out of her." John stretches in his seat, groaning as he spreads his arms. "I really don't think he'd let anything happen to her anyway."

"How do you possibly know that? You can read his mind now?" Rodney quips.

With a shrug John replies: "She's useful. Todd doesn't get rid of people who can get him something he wants."

…

"_Fuck," Jennifer hisses as her face is pressed into the mattress. Todd's claws, so close to her eye just graze her skin, tickling the flesh. The other hand gripped her hip, holding her in place._

_She gasps, each upward thrust fueling the fire in her belly. Rougher this time around, the Wraith knew his bed mate's limits now and what she enjoyed. It did surprise him, however, that the woman became excited when exposed to a minimal amount of direct pain._

_Jennifer had arced and moaned when he bit the round underside of her breast. The Wraith could not complain, as it allowed him to slacken some restraint. _

"Todd?"

A deep, thrumming "hmm" answers her as the Wraith analyzes the data brought to him while Jennifer slept. The human finally became exhausted enough to ignore the stresses and sleep. They were only an hour and a half's journey from the breeding facility, he had informed her when she awoke a few minutes earlier.

"Why was Myrna locked up?"

Todd stops and looks directly at the woman engulfed by the furs and quilts behind him. "She carries the virus."

"So she's a werewolf?"

"She can manage a shift, yes, but it could kill her. The Wraith in her prevents a permanent change in DNA. Myrna's purpose is that of a transitional host; a carrier of sorts. Contact with her blood or any bodily fluid will transfer the whole of the virus. Essentially, she is a living biological weapon."

Jennifer sits up, pulling a dark blue quilt around herself. "Was she the one who killed everyone?"

"I suspect so, the bodies were eaten after they had died," Todd replies absently, his attention back on the information on the screen.

The hybrid's genetic makeup astounds him and the Wraith knew the tale of her past had been a well rehearsed lie based on this. Of course the village may not have been, but how she came to be a hybrid certainly was. He infers the remainders of the abomination's hybrids have managed to perfect a new strain. A walking bomb programmed to appear harmless and sympathetic. With a more Wraith-like appearance, these creatures could easily infiltrate a hive desperate for able bodies.

"So, is it even possible for a Wraith to reproduce with a human?" Jennifer scoots closer the Todd so that she could look over his shoulder.

"In the proper circumstances, yes."

"There've been true hybrids before?" she asks, watching the Wraith script roll over the dark lit tablet.

"I know of two cases. There may be more, but it has not been documented if so."

Watching his eyes move right to left across the text, Jennifer rests her head on his shoulder. "I won't…become…"

Todd sets the tablet on the bed and frowns at the woman. "I admit to knowing quite a bit, Jennifer Keller," he stresses the hard **r** of her name, "But I cannot predict pregnancy."

"So there is a chance."

"It is a similar chance you have taken with your Doctor McKay, is it not?"

Fighting the urge to slap him across that angular face, Jennifer satisfies her anger by glaring at the tablet. Of course Todd had a point. Condoms weren't one hundred percent effective, and she and Rodney had not used protection every time.

With a sigh, the woman just leans against Todd. There was the temptation to ask him if she could go back to the waiting room, but she didn't want to see Rodney. He couldn't possibly know what had happened, twice, along with the oral which she denied Rodney. Jennifer just could not bring herself to face him now, so she settles on trying to read the information Todd was dissecting.

Each block of characters drew her eyes over it. The uneven sections were paragraphs; flat over the top to indicate the beginning. Jennifer knew enough of their language to recognize a handful of words. From what she could gather, it appears to be results from screenings and behavior observations of Myrna while not on neuro-inhibitors. "_Outward displays of aggression when in the presence of a Wraith, spits aiming towards the face. Silent, and unresponsive to the humans. Minor shift in appearance, facial structure and extremities. No widespread skin discoloration, concentrated in the area of the mutation." _Wraith sentence construction was very direct and arranged similar to Spanish.

"Why didn't she attack us on the planet?"

"Risking infecting a human prevented that. Your group was not the intended targets, and once harboring the virus, a human reverts to a near ape."

"So we turn into big, flesh eating monkeys?"

"I have just told you so; there is no need to reconfirm it, Jennifer."

"And there's no need to make me feel stupid," Jennifer snaps back at the Wraith.

"If I had thought you stupid…"

"You wouldn't have fucked me?" she finishes, looking at him.

"Ah Jennifer," Todd murmurs, "I would not have taken the chance with my life by testing your catastrophic gene therapy, or aided you on that planet. The likelihood of the Hoffan plague being cured with your help is great, my dear."

Being the first to avert her eyes, Jennifer plays with the edge of the quilt. "With your history of keeping information from us, I really don't think that cure can happen anytime soon."

"You are on my Hive are you not?" Todd asks. He taps the edge of the tablet's screen and it fades to black. Setting it to one side, the Wraith stands and rolls his shoulders. "You will have access to every bit of information in our databank until you are returned to Atlantis."

_Thanks, I feel like a whore now,_ Jennifer thinks bitterly. _Great sex little human, now go play with the ship's computers until I can get you home_. She swings her legs over the side of the bed with the quilt around her. "Will…"

"I will send someone to escort you to the medical research laboratory when you are decent, unless you wish to entertain my crew in your current state."

"My clothes are gone."

"And they should be returned within a handful of minutes. I will inform your _friends_ of your new location while you wait."

Sitting in silence as Todd redresses, Jennifer tries to ignore that knot in her stomach. If anything went wrong, she feels that somehow, it would be her fault. _If I didn't sleep with him, I'd be sitting with John and Rodney right now waiting to get dropped off at home. But, I wouldn't have full access to Todd's info… _

Once Todd leaves her, she draws her knees to her chest and stares at the screen on the opposite wall. Not bothering to translate is, Jennifer simply lets her eyes unfocus as the rolling letters fall, day dreaming. So many horrible outcomes could rise out of her fooling around with a Wraith.

"And I'm not the first person to ever do that," she says to herself in reassurance. Her clothes would be here soon and she would get to take her mind off of what had happened. Absorbing herself with work was a way of coping, that and eating a grilled cheese with a big fat layer of sharp cheddar.

The thought of food reminds her that she was getting hungry. Jennifer doubts the Wraith know how to fix a proper grilled cheese with butter on the outside mixed with a little egg to make it extra crispy. Fruit seems to be in an endless supply, she reminds herself to ask Todd or whoever comes to escort her about getting a snack.

Bored, she scoots off the bed and walks around Todd's bedroom. If it weren't for the worshipper, or maid, whatever she was, Jennifer thinks the room would probably be a bit cluttered. The closet opens to coats, shirts and pants. Boots line the bottom of the organic growth. _Do Hives come standard, or does furniture grow to suit the owner? _she thinks to herself as she picks up a pair of the long, narrow boots.

Setting down the boots, the slightly out of place trunk in the far corner, under the window catches Jennifer's eye. Large and made from dark stained wood, the piece stuck out like a sore thumb despite being partially covered by a coat. Carefully removing the coat, she flips the leather straps on the side and pushes the heavy lid up.

"Wow."

Inside the trunk were books. Languages that she has never seen before, some looked as if they'd poof into dust if she touches them. Tightening the quilt under her arms, Jennifer sits on the warm floor. With one hand on the lid to keep it from falling on her, she rifles through the less delicate books. By flipping through the pages with illustrations, Jennifer can guess at the content: medical, herbs, deformities and tumors, geography and the last she picks up appears to be a fictional story. People, humans, dressed in near Victorian attire grace a few of the pages between chapters.

Absorbed by the lovely little drawings the foot steps behind her were silent. "Doctor Keller?"

With a gasp, Jennifer lets go of the lid. Slamming shut, she pulls her hands away quickly before it can hit her fingers. Looking up at the Wraith standing behind her, Jennifer manages a startled smile. The tattoo under his eye and long face were familiar. "Hi."

"The Commander has requested you be escorted to the research laboratory."

"My clothes aren't here yet," Jennifer replies.

The expression gave little to what the Wraith thought of the response. Every time she saw Kenny, he looked like someone spat in his cereal.

"Um," she stands, keeping the quilt pulled tight, "how do you like your job?"

Kenny tilts his head, the sour expression changing to a sour confusion. "What manner of question is that?"

"Just passing the time," Jennifer says with an awkward smile. "I've always kinda wondered. I mean you're Todd's second in command. That gets some perks, right?"

The Wraith frowns at the woman standing clad in nothing but a quilt before him. He had overheard one of the underlings complaining of pointless questions from this human, any further complaints died once he came into view. "The position has its benefits and risks," he says finally.

"Do you like working with him?"

_Such pointless questions_, "I've served under worse."

Jennifer nods and squeezes the quilt then rocks on her heels. She was sure Kenny was enjoying her mouth being shut; she watches the door to avoid catching his eye. _I wonder if he knows what went on_.

The few minutes stretch on. Jennifer occupies her mind with looking at the room further. Plundering in Todd's belongings was off limits now that Kenny was watching her, possibly just as bored as she. Even if he did not mind, common courteousy prevented her from doing so. The yawn the Wraith didn't bother stifling confirms it. Finally, she cannot stand the silence any further: "Why does he keep all those books?"

"I do not question the Commander's hobbies."

_At least my clothes will be here soon_.


	12. Chapter 12

**This was the toughest of chapters to get out.**

* * *

The Worshipper had come and gone, and Jennifer stood in front of Kenny trying to keep both the quilt around her and the clean clothing from falling out of her arms. The Wraith was giving no indication of turning away so she could dress in private. _I could go into the bathroom…but will he follow me? God I hope not. _There was only one way to find out.

"I'll be ready in a jiffy," she says to the alien, forcing a smile.

A quick glance behind her ensures that Kenny had not made any move to follow. Jennifer finds solace in the small room still humid from the bath when she is out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, and looking at the empty entryway to be sure, the woman drops the quilt.

Keeping her feet under the body warmed fabric so she wouldn't feel the uncomfortable chill of the hive, Jennifer steps into her panties. It did bother her that someone, a stranger, handled her dainties. The thought of said stranger examining her panties causes her to pause before pulling them up completely. _They were cleaned and folded, that's all_, she says to herself to feel more at ease.

The bra was inside out; the padding pulled out, and lay on her folded pants. With a sigh, Jennifer does her best to repair it. The padding went back in easily, but she wouldn't be able to do anything to jostle her breasts too much, or they would slide free and her bra would end up sucked under them. Unless the Wraith suddenly turned on them, she doubted running would help her if that happened. Jennifer admittedly wasn't the quickest on her feet. A morning yoga routine was it for her, unless she pulled a graveyard shift, and Pilates was an option if she was feeling particularly adventurous.

Thankful that the dust and sand were out of her clothes, Jennifer tucks in the pockets of her pants that had gotten crumpled during the cleaning.

All sorted, she reaches her fingertips to the ceiling before stretching upwards on the tips of her toes. Flexing the fingers, she then leans down and waits until the tendons loosen enough for her to place her palms flat on the floor. Feeling much more secure and movable (not to mention, fully clothed), Jennifer scoops up the quilt and emerges into the bedroom where Kenny was waiting.

…

The landing location had been transmitted by the time the cruiser penetrated the thick atmosphere of the very blue-green planet. While typically it was sent to the hive, prior to depart. This brought caution to the Commander, who skims the tree tops. With the coordinates were now available to him, this behavior made him wonder what exactly has happened here since his previous visit five centuries ago when his Queen had passed during hibernation.

The Commander's Hive awaits him, anticipating his return with what had been promised them. They still sought the comfort and security a Queen brought to their close knit web and he found it a shame they could not escape that custom.

With the meter reading that the nutrient supply of the precious cargo beginning to show that they were approaching dangerously low levels, it is a relief to the alien that the opening in the dense canopy is near.

The thick branched trees quiver as the craft lands within their protective circle. Vines had been kept trimmed to prevent potential entanglement. With a groan, the cruiser settles onto the packed soil. The pistons hiss as the organic vessel relaxes. Leathery winged creatures screech in alarm at the sound, fleeing their resting spots to find safety amongst the tree tops.

It was the guard Drones out first to ensure the area is free of predators, or to take the brunt of damage if ambushed by their brethren. Once the signal of safety is issued from the simple minded aliens, four more exit the cruiser. Those Drones were tasked with carrying the cargo, two to each crate.

They wait, standing, one staring at the back of the other from across the rectangular boxes for their Commander.

The ground was packed hard when his boots touched the dull colored soil, nutrients burned away. The lack of vegetation growth indicated that the landing zone has been used with increasing frequency, leading to a small worry to pick at the Wraith's mind. He certainly hopes that he would not have to choose between a poorly developed female and nothing at all. To return empty handed would likely push the whisper of rebellion amongst the power hungry into reality.

With a gesture, the Drones begin their trek towards the facility. Superbly concealed, the passage was a play on depth perception and the Wraith seem to simply walk through a wall of foliage. Decay and water overwhelm senses, and the Commander found it a blessing in comparison to the barren lands he had so recently recovered from which left his nostrils and sensory pits desiccated.

Moss laden branches and stones pillow the planet, concealing the tender flesh of the shrubs and fungi from the sun light that has managed to penetrate the canopy by way of invasive, branch free, tubular trees. Further from the large opening they had ventured from, the forest begins to take on a bioluminescence. Unless one happens to look upwards to see the bright pin pricks through the leaves, it would appear as night.

Todd found it beautiful, being inexplicably drawn to the color blue. Most members of his species were prone to this instinctual allure.

Rustling from the few diurnal creatures and the heavy foot falls of the Drones are the only sounds that accompany the small band to the heavy human crafted gate. Wooly vines grew over the fence that stretched onward and upward, encasing the facility and preventing the younglings from being snatched up by predators or simply getting lost.

With the locking mechanism inside, the Wraith waited. There would be no need to send out a mental pulse to reveal his presence; the cloaked tracker orbs had already alerted the guards. The increase in security did not surprise him, not with the state of all things.

No more than a hand's span of minutes passes before a lone Wraith walks into view. It was a relief to the Commander to hear one of his own devoid of the taint of human tongue. Permanent ground based Wraith had only the need to read the various texts humans put forth, but had no need to speak it. This facility in particular, secure in the isolated valley, were free from unwanted contact with the native humans.

The Wraith who greeted him in the guttural, clicking tongue of their species inclines his head once he introduces himself. "I am well aware of the time constraint you are under, but one must avoid blind trust in these times," he says, placing his hand over his breast. "I am required to personally ensure you are who you appear to be."

"Understandable. I am under the impression that there has been trouble in the past, is that so?" the Commander replies, leaving his mind open for the gate keeper.

"Unfortunately yes," the Wraith replies, taping the key pad to open the gate. Once it slides open with a metallic groan, he continues: "In the past three years we have suffered the loss of twenty nine females in raids. I speak for the entire facility when I say that your contribution is greatly appreciated."

The gate closes behind them, gears grind to lock securely. Waking along side the escort, Todd wordlessly orders the Drones to follow at a distance of four paces. "It has not gone unnoticed how some members of our race are regressing to such barbaric manners."

"Indeed," the other Wraith frowns, the scar splitting his upper lip causes the expression to become exaggerated. He continues after a stretch of silence: "Our Keeper has selected seven to choose from. Three of the lot are fully matured and ready to be mated."

_The other four will require further training, but how young is the brood mother allowing them to leave_? Todd muses in private, keeping his expression passive though he nods in acknowledgement to the reassurance.

With the distraction of the possibilities that he had presented, Todd hardly registers the facility's main door sliding open until the rush of air strikes his face. The walls were permeated placental with nutrients, hatchlings and nearly mature Wraith's individual body odor, cooked food, all assault the Commander's nostrils. Each scent, individually, are not at all offensive. It was that the combination of such brought with it the memory of that Earth grown fruit whose scent caused him to become violently ill: bananas.

Suppressing the shudder and unpleasant rolling in his abdomen, Todd follows his escort who had stepped ahead of him and his Drones. Once inside the intense buzz of sound accompanies the smell. Humming, clicking and the deeper vocals of the adults come from all directions, as the facility stretched outwards, split into two quarters and large enough to house both male and female younglings.

The two were completely cut off from one another, to prevent any temptation of intermingling between the sexes. Each opening presented rooms of females of varying age in the process of being taught basic reading, biology, and mathematical equations. Further down the corridor they pass a massive room, there females stood in rows of five mimicking fighting stances, simple kicks and jabs. It certainly impressed the Commander that this facility started their females out at a young age, exposing them to all fields of learning and defense.

"Our facility still practices the customs of those before the Lantean war," the escort says once he glances back to see what had delayed the Commander. "It is a shame so many of the new breeding grounds have become factories."

"Mmhm," Todd thrums in reply, watching a child (who was probably no older than eight by his reckoning), dart past them, shortly followed by a flustered older female.

…

Jennifer felt uncomfortable with Kenny so close. The Wraith, though across the room, seems as if he were leaning over her shoulder, scrutinizing the information she downloads onto a tablet. A tablet, Todd so kindly offered to let her borrow, as she did not have her laptop with her.

Adding to her unease was Helena's presence. The body of the female lay at the back of the laboratory, clearly having gone through an autopsy. It was a great effort on the human's part not to succumb to tears. An alien she considered a friend was gutted, and what little remained of the organs that had not liquefied, were in canisters. She couldn't bring herself to look at the corpse, even if it did have answers. Not yet, not while the loss is still fresh and sharp.

"What happens at the breeding facilities?" Jennifer asks to distract herself, glancing over her shoulder to see the Wraith set down a bottle of unknown red liquid too light to be blood, and she was grateful of that little fact.

She almost expects him not to answer, as he had lapsed into silence when he had grown tired of her questions earlier. To her surprise, Kenny replies: "They provide a safe environment for Queens to birth their offspring or simply extract fertilized eggs to be developed artificially. From there, the hatchlings are raised and tutored until maturity."

"Sounds a lot like Earth's orphanages," Jennifer says, turning fully in her chair. "Its sex segregated, right?"

"Yes."

"What about the Wraith like Helena?" and when Kenny frowns in confusion, she elaborates (_maybe Todd didn't tell him what we called her_, she thinks): "She was the female Wraith who died on the planet. Helena said she hadn't been chosen…and didn't want to. What happens to them?"

"Those females are sterilized and trained as Keepers or attendants."

"That sounds a bit…" she didn't want to say _sexist_. "They can't have other jobs?"

"Temperament and the temptations of males, not to mention the risk of being presented as competition to a Queen prevent females from remaining safe in other positions within a hive. Cases like that are rare given the current situation."

His sharp toned explanation did sooth the nerve struck. With a nod, Jennifer checks the tablet's progress. _75% complete_. The information Todd's research team had compiled along with data commandeered from hybrid compounds nearly overwhelmed her when Kenny brought up the file. This would take weeks to look through alone.

"What is it that Keepers do exactly?"

Jennifer swears she could feel him roll his eyes behind her before she turns away from the tablet once more. Was contempt what she saw? The human had seen little range of expression from this Wraith, but she has become accustomed to Todd's manner. The thought invokes a rush of pink to her cheeks which Kenny seems to have picked up on.

Jennifer bites her lower lip as the Second tilts his head, the eyes narrow for only the slightest moment, enough that she could see the cloudy membrane touch the nearest corner of his irises.

"Perhaps it is best, _Doctor_ Keller, that you finish you work quickly."

The words bit Jennifer sharply and she turns away from the Wraith to avoid having him see how dark her cheeks had become. _96 % complete_. "I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me download data," she dares to say, inwardly cringing at what the out come could possibly be in testing how far this alien's patience would go. "I mean, you have a hive full of, um, others who would be more," Jennifer takes a deep breath to steady her nerves, "I'm sure there are others who would rather do this. If you're going to sulk and talk down to me until Todd gets back then it won't be fun for either of us. Sure, you could kill me and be done with it, but there goes any help you'd get from Atlantis."

Heart pounding in her ears, she doesn't turn to see Kenny's reaction, she didn't want to. The pounding skips a beat when the creak of leather sounds behind her, but rather than finding out what it is like to be fed upon she felt the Wraith come to a halt behind her. The heat from them both warms her back and it was then she looks up.

An odd chittering sounds in his throat as the Wraith scrutinizes the woman. Did she come across too hostile? Jennifer swallows, but never lowers her gaze from those pale yellow eyes.

"What do you hope to gain with your wiles?"

"What?" Jennifer asks, truly startled by the question.

"You've distracted the Commander when he need not be, what is it that you want?"

"N-nothing," she stammers. "I didn't expect him to…that to happen. I don't think either of us did."

Prickling in the frontal lobe of her brain frightens her. Having never been subjected to a mental probing, Jennifer thought the worst. While she knew from Teyla, only Queens could fully enter the minds of humans to sift through memories at their leisure, it still made her wish she could hide all her dirty secrets. However, the Wraith draws back, his head tilts and with a snort he nods. _She speaks the truth._

Jennifer watches the Wraith's mouth open, then close. Those yellow eyes, which she found to look a bit small in proportion to his face, turn away and Kenny takes a step away from her.

It appears that the alien was having a great deal of difficulty finding words and Jennifer can only attempt a smile, "Things happen," she says.

"You have put yourself in a dangerous position, human," he says at last.

Lowering her eyes, the woman nods and unhooks the tablet that had gone black as the download finished. In truth, she had not the faintest of ideas at how much danger she had possibly put herself in. _Maybe he's trying to frighten me…but why would he lie, didn't Teyla say it wasn't in their nature to lie? _The tablet rests heavily in her hands as she stands, _everyone lies, alien or not_.

"Have you finished here, Doctor Keller?"

"Yeah," she replies, stealing a glance at the body and regretting it immediately when her throat begins to tighten.

Hearing the door open, Jennifer looks at the ceiling to keep her eyes clear as something in her told her that crying was not a very good idea around Wraith. A deep breath and a quick blink settle her enough to follow Kenny out of the lab.

She wants to ask where they were going, when the Wraith leads her down an unfamiliar hall. They pass several rooms before stopping in front of one of the lifts, what Rodney had dubbed _the Wraithial interpretation of an elevator_. Jennifer hides her giggle behind a false cough that Kenny ignores as he steps inside.

With a stomach lurching move, the lift begins to descend to goodness knows where. Chewing on her lower lip, the woman stares at the door while she wonders what Kenny or Todd had in mind for her, because this was certainly not the way to the waiting room.

The lift comes to a stop and the door slides open to a place in the hive Jennifer had never seen. Reports she had read about being captured only gave her a glimmer of what the holding cells were like. Now she stands at the end of long rows of them, hearing cries and sobs from the humans within. "Do not concern yourself with them, Doctor, we are simply using them to aid our researching in detecting the Hoffan virus," Kenny says as he walks ahead of her.

When the human begins to follow, he continues: "The Commander wants you to perform a full body examination of the hybrid before he returns."

"Aren't your scientists more qualified?"

"We cannot risk possible infection."

"So you can risk me getting infected…"

"That is something the hybrid will avoid if she awakens before you have completed your task."

"But if she's going to be stunned the entire time, why bother using me?"

Kenny turns to face her, stopping, "As I said, we cannot risk the remote possibility of infection, Doctor. After the Atero device obliterated two of our cruisers and your gene therapy destroyed an entire hive, we cannot afford to lose anymore of the alliance."

Jennifer's cheeks darken but she nods, "I understand."

Satisfied, the Wraith leads the woman to the hybrid's holding cell. The small, naked form of Myrna is at the back of the small room, shoulders rolling forward defensively when Kenny comes into view.

It is painful for Jennifer to see the hybrid like this, even knowing what she is meant for. "Hi Myrna," she says.

"Hello Jennifer," Myrna says; the duel tones of her voice were harsh and crackling with lack of water.

Pushing herself away from the back wall, the hybrid walks to the webbed door of the cell. She had long lost the ability to hurl spittle at the Wraith standing next to the human, but bares her teeth at him none the less. "So, they've picked you to poke and prod me?"

"It won't take long," Jennifer assures her, trying to smile. "All I need to do is check your physical condition and perform a quick scan. There won't be any poking, maybe a little prodding," she attempts to lighten the mood to put the hybrid at ease.

Myrna reaches up, grabbing where her hair would have been over her breasts, but only grasps a handful of air. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your body mutated?"

"Kinda," Jennifer murmurs, trying to expel the memory of what had happened to her nearly a year ago. "I can't exactly sympathize with what happened to you, I don't have to live with anything physical to remind me, but I still have nightmares of waking up covered in tentacles. It sucks, but you're alive and if you let me do this, you might still be alive tomorrow."

If they hybrid was going to answer Jennifer would never know. As soon as Myrna looks at her, the whites of her eyes black with burst blood vessels, her body locks violently with the charge of a stunner. The heavy thud of the fall causes Jennifer to cringe at the force of her head hitting the floor. Fussing at Kenny would do no good, and she had the feeling he wasn't in the mood to receive any criticism.

"No more than an hour. The equipment is to your left. I will close the door behind you," Kenny says.


	13. Chapter 13

Relieved on his cargo and escort, the Commander awaits the Keeper in the presenting chambers. The room is circular, dim with a soft yellow glow focusing in the center. The lighting suited any skin tone and was meant to camouflage blemishes. While this tactic wasn't effective in the entire process of choosing, a candidate's chances did increase slightly if she possessed pleasing features.

The screeching of two females fighting could be heard somewhere close by, muted by the walls. While male adolescents fought with the simple intent on proving superiority over another; females did so to inflict facial and genital damage, lessening the chances of being picked if the wounds were severe. Listening with mild interest born of boredom, the Wraith soon hears the guttural bark of an Overseer to break up the squabble.

He knew well the repercussions of frequently picking fights within a breeding facility. While his knowledge was more than likely out dated by quite a number of centuries, the likely punishment would still be isolation and a cropping. Females took great pride in their manes, and thusly had it taken from them in circumstances where a fight was not called for.

Whispering. Turning his head, the Wraith watches the door across the room hiss open. Unable to see clearly because of the light, he is forced wait until the figure comes closer, for the mind of the other is well walled. The figure belongs to a female, he knew, the soft, lingering perfume of her was brought with the rush of air from the open door.

"I apologize for the wait, Commander, but the younglings had to be prepped under such short notice," the female says, still closed from him, still out of his vision range; just a gray outline of a head, shoulders and long arms engulfed in black.

"It is of no inconvenience to me."

"You will know that the females our Brood Mother is allowing to be presented have not all completed their training."

The Commander inclines his head, knowing in full that the facility was still recovering from a recent loss.

"_It happened a month before. I'm sure you noticed the damage," the escort says, sweeping his arm to accentuate the repairing wall; its flesh pink still, glittering, and wet. "The Commander was not of any clan allied with us." _

"_How many were taken?" The Commander asks, placing his hand over the puffy lip of the hole._

"_Four mature females, seventeen younglings and," the Wraith pauses, frowning at the semi-translucent membrane. "Five of our mature males awaiting stations left with them willingly."_

"I, and my Hive are very grateful of her generosity."

Finally gracing the light, the female steps forward and says: "We know your reputation, Commander. I do not wish to see a female leave my care and be treated like nothing more than a fertile figurehead."

Standing before him, eye level and so brilliantly green; the Keeper's heavy lashes curtain her mottled green-gold irises. Hair, which so typically fell free and lustrous, was matted into thick ropes. They let her scent linger, heavy around her head in a pheromone a wreath.

A quick narrowing of her eyes and he feels her mind invade his. The tentacle fingers probe his psyche, seeking answers for what he can never be trusted to answer her verbally. It wraps his mind in cool liquid, tunneling his vision until she is satisfied with what she finds within. The liquid ebbs, allowing his mind to un-fog and his thoughts to sort themselves back into their proper place; hidden away from any potential eavesdroppers.

The Keeper backs, giving the Commander space to compose himself, and in turn, inclines her head. Movement behind her shapely form is the only indication that is given of approval as seven adolescent females enter the room. Each stops within the light, arm's length apart, oldest to youngest.

_Shriiiak-tsk-tsk-tsk._

The eldest of the candidates parts from the line, striding forward with her shoulders pulled back so far she appears near comical. Unable to suppress the chuckle, the Commander shakes his head, dismissing the female before she can come to stand before him.

"How dare you?" the dismissed hisses, her teeth flashing.

"Silence!" the voice echoes through the room, blasting within the mind of the now cowering dismissed.

It takes a firm hand when dealing with adolescent females, and the Keeper soon puts the female in her place. Long naked fingers tangle in the intricate curling coils piled on the others head, yanking back until the neck is exposed. "You are no Queen yet, _hatchling_, and will not speak out of turn before your elders."

With a shove, the shamed Wraith falls to her hands and knees. Just above the Commander's well worn boots, she glares at the scratched leather with quivering lips and indignant growls.

"Go to your Overseer before you shame yourself further, the others need to have their turn and our guest cannot be kept waiting," the Keeper says evenly.

Without the need to interfere, the Commander glances at the retreating back of the young Wraith as she rises and leaves the room. Her intermediate mind radiates her emotions to all in the undulating bubble of her psychic range. When the second potential begins to approach him does he return his attention to her; scrutinizing her poised gait.

On the tips of her toes she seems to walk, an improvement though for one younger and presumably less trained. She comes to settle before him, barely able to reach his mid chest. Her features were long though rounded with youth and framed with rich black hair, which lay in lazy waves, just barely swinging past her jaw.

A fighter, he knew, but she has something that catches his interest. The harsh yellow of her sharp gaze meets his and there it is gone, erasing his assumption immediately. No, this one would never allow him to retain his position once she grew old enough to assert herself. Those hawk eyes narrow when she is dismissed, but she makes no fuss in her leaving, keeping her composure well.

_She will make a formidable Queen when her time comes. _

The third, fourth and fifth come and go, finding a fatal fault in each that would no doubt jeopardize his position or hers. It was not to say they would not make fine Queens, but for the job held on his Hive, the qualifications sought were vastly different. To foolishly jeopardize a female for the sake of his crew's comforts would not sit well with the Alliance, or his conscience.

Stepping forward, the sixth and second youngest just barely out of puberty comes to stand before him. A female not of the Brood Mother's line, more than likely birthed here by a rival to form a tentative tie with the original founding clan. Tall for her stage of development, she manages to crest his shoulder with a head full of mousy brown hair. The youngling's Overseer had set it behind her shoulders in a falsely heavy multiple strand braid.

A willowy figure indicates she has gone through life with little confrontation thus far. Her wrists were delicate, ending in large, long fingered hands. Small breasts and lacking the curves of adulthood, the Commander weighs the chance he would be required to take if he chose one so young. Guards would need to be posted, guards that required screening to ensure they would not give in to their own temptations, endangering the youngling before she was not a policy enforced on the hive.

However, her mind is still underdeveloped, fresh and malleable.

The final candidate chitters, clicking her tongue in boredom. That one, perhaps having only experienced her first heat cycle would not find security. Far too curious and defiant at that stage, without heavy security (which the Wraith could not afford at the moment) the youngling would be dead within a week.

_Aar!ik_.

Bowing her head, the last hatchling leaves the room; more interested in playing than politics.

"I will have her belongings transported to your cruiser," the Keeper says as the door closes behind the vanishing back of the youngest.


	14. Chapter 14

John props his feet on the table, now picked clean of food more from boredom than hunger by the two men. A quick glance at his watch gives him a pretty good idea why the room's temperature dropped some fifteen degrees in the past twenty minutes. _They have to sleep sometime_, he thinks, staring at the ceiling.

Rubbing at his arms, Rodney paces the small ten by twenty room in an attempt to keep warm. "You think they'll give us a place to sleep?" he asks.

"I don't know Rodney," John groans as he pulls his arms behind his head in a long, much needed stretch. "We got a bath and food, that's probably about as hospitable as Wraith get."

"Good point," and after a pause, Rodney continues: "I'm worried about Jen."

"Yeah, well you aren't the only one. I'll see about getting some answers next time that door opens."

Finally, tired of pacing, Rodney takes a seat close to the other man. The bare table consists of a few stray cores, the meat of the bright yellow brown speckled fruit was already turning various shades of brown. If it wasn't disposed of sometime soon, the smell would become nauseating to the humans. While delicious and sweet smelling when ripe, the jarboa (or bananapples as they liked to call them) would soon become rancid with a scent strongly akin to a rotting corpse.

Picking up one of the cores by its stem, Rodney twirls it right and left until the core breaks free. The soft flesh bounces wetly across the table's surface. "I fucked up."

"What?"

"With Jen."

"Yeah, yeah you did. Give her some time to cool down and work things out," John shrugs, leaning back on the chair's hind legs. "We all weren't at our finest back there."

To be honest, Rodney wasn't as terrible as he could have been. John rocks on the chair legs; M69-735 was the crowning glory of Rodney's worst. Predominately mountainous, and hot as fuck, the Colonel reflects on the entire team's horrible endeavor. Between the heat and deadly terrain, there were some nasty flying creatures to contend with.

John shudders at the memory of those narrow, pointed beaks filled with tiny rear facing teeth. Lieutenant Garman had been the only injury, nearly losing his arm to one of those things. Last he heard, the man still didn't have full mobility of his fingers.

While the men sit in silence, the door slides open. The familiar face at the archway did nothing to brighten the mood as Todd steps inside. "We've set a course for Atlantis. You'll be with your own in four hours."

"Great, do we have time for a nap? These chairs aren't doing my back any good," John says, rocking the chair back on all fours.

"There are some beds available on the lower deck."

Pushing his chair back, John stands and grunts as his lower back complains. Following suit, Rodney leaves his seat. "Lead the way," the Colonel says, spreading his arm in a mocking gesture.

…

"So, how'd your shopping trip go?" John asks the broad shouldered back a few paces ahead of him as they followed the Wraith down the winding halls.

The Wraith's brows furrow for a moment as he searches for the true meaning of this phrase. While normally it was asked of human females when they returned with bags in tow; this did not fit the proper context. Ah-h-h, his bond brother was inquiring how his venture into the breeding facility had faired. "Well," he replies and says nothing more.

The less these humans knew of his new Queen, the better she would fair until he saw fit she meet with them.

While prepared for an onslaught of further prying questions and sarcasm, Todd was grateful of the silence from the two men. The only perceptible sound, other than the residual hum of his Hive, was their footfalls. The swelling pool of voices is muted within the Wraith's mind. To his relief, the new Queen had been well received when introduced to his highest ranking officers. He need not bother informing the rest of his Hive of her presence, for the atmosphere was already pregnant with her grounding mind. The Hive, for the first time in months, is calm.

"And Doctor Keller, what have you done with her for the past few hours?"

The Wraith tilts his head, glancing at Sheppard's form that waivers through the clumps of hair obstructing his vision.

Jennifer had been secured in the primary laboratory with the results of Myrna's physical examination. This relieves some burden on him by keeping her occupied under the eyes of his chief scientist, freeing his Second to hand pick the Queen's guards.

"I've tasked her with isolating Myrna's virus."

"Is that all?"

…

Free of the humans, who had seemed adequately satisfied with their accommodations, the Commander made his way to the mid level of the central Hive.

Here is the safe haven of the Queens. Nestled in the center, this area would be the last to sustain damage, giving a female and anyone in the area more than enough time to reach the escape hatch.

She had been waiting for him, giving her anticipation away with a sudden lurch from the throne. Newly dressed in an outfit better suited for life on a Hive, she nearly loses her balance on the three inch heeled boots. With time, the awkwardness would fade and the added height would provide her with the proper effect of an intimidating stature.

"Your position is safe once more," the young Queen says.

"For now," the Commander replies, "as long as you play the part you were given."

"I would not jeopardize your position, for it will certainly harm me in the end."

_She is a bright one_.

Visibly relaxing, the Queen sinks into the enveloping cushions of the throne. Her head rocks back and closing her eyes, she continues: "My cycle is due within the month, will I be mated immediately or be forced to wait until you are finished with your affair?"

_Affair?_ The Wraith's nostril's flare as he looks at the female, who had opened her eyes to meet his. How she knew of this confounds him, his mind had remained locked to her since she arrived.

Expression remaining as neutral as he could muster in light of the circumstances, the Commander forces a smile, "I assure you, Queen, that it was merely an act of providing the woman with incentive to work without reluctance."

"Is she the human who concocted the Hoffan plague?"

"No, her predecessor."

"And he is alive?"

"Yes," his eyes narrow.

"Wouldn't it have been more prudent to have him work for you rather than she?"

"A matter of convenience, Queen. It is not the Hoffan plague she and I are concerned with at the moment. While, yes, I intend on finding a means to cure the ill effects, there is a more pressing matter at hand."

This seems to successfully divert her attention from the matter of Jennifer. The Commander watches her lean forward, elbows perching on her knees as she asks: "And what pressing matter is this that takes precedence over the plague eradicating our kind?"

"An old threat has resurfaced in a new mold. You are too young to remember, Queen, but have your instructors allowed you to research any history of threats on our kind?"

"It is mandatory, yes."

"Good, then I will not be required to explain," he steps towards her and leans down to speak at eye level. "The shifter's virus has been remade."

"By whom?" the Queen hisses, nearly nose to nose with the male.

"It seems the hybrids do not need their leader as much as we had thought."

Barking in anger, or frustration (the Commander could not tell which, if not both) the Queen rubs her left hand over her face. "Have you made any progress?"

"My _affair_ is attempting to isolate the virus in the host I acquired."

She asks no questions of him, and answers with a nod. Seeming to deflate with a heavy sigh, the young female stands as the Commander moves back to allow her room. "She will remain on this hive until she is has completed her task."

"And what, _my Queen_, will we tell the Atlantians?"

"The truth. It affects humans, does it not?"

"Undeniably."

"Perhaps they will be inclined to help with that knowledge. Be sure to explain to them all of the horrors it can cause in this galaxy. I wish to see the host you captured."


	15. Chapter 15

What was supposed to happen in Medea but didn't, due to: Continuity problems, frustration, lack of time, and outright laziness.

-The monster is killed, but not before she infects Kenny, the lead scientist, and dozens of drones.

-Sheppard kills all but partially changed Kenny during the escape to the dart bay. Jennifer is scratched on the way.

-McKay convinces the pilot to aim the hive (which has turned, jumped into hyperspace and is back at the planet at Todd's orders as soon as word of the monster's escape) at the planet's stargate to crash the ship and destroy the infected, and prevent survivors from spreading it to other worlds.

-McKay with the pilot radio Sheppard to rendezvous at the dart bay.

-The group finds Todd cornered by a now fully transformed Kenny, suffering from a nasty abdominal wound. Sheppard kills Kenny just before he can finish Todd.

-Jennifer manages to rig a bandage from her tee shirt to keep Todd's innards in their right place. She and Sheppard help him to the dart bay while McKay fires at two desperate, injured wraith who intend to feed on the group and take the ready dart. They manage to feed on the pilot before the bullets stop them.

-With Todd in the cockpit, the team escape the hive.

-Todd lands the dart on a nearby world with a stargate, dematerializes the team so they can dial Atlantis.

-Jennifer convinces Sheppard to let Todd come with them so she can check his injury, which has not healed. Todd nearly dies after being moved from the dart to the stargate.

-Story ends with Todd escorted from Atlantis, stitched up, partially healed and heading towards a Wraith friendly planet to feed. Jennifer is still conflicted about her feelings for McKay and her affair with Todd. Their relationship is strained but she agrees to join him for lunch the next day.


End file.
